I don’t personally know Waze, Deshmukh tells probe panel

IN HIS cross-examination before the Chandiwal Commission on Monday, former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that he personally didn’t know dismissed cop Sachin Waze. The cross-examination of Deshmukh is underway as the hearing of the Commission has reached its final stages.

Controversial IPS officer Param Bir Singh, in his letter to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, had said that Deshmukh, during his tenure as the state home minister, had deputed Waze to collect money from shopkeepers.

During his cross-examination, when Deshmukh was asked if he had asked Waze to assist in the investigation linked to black marketing of masks or the Anvay Naik suicide case, Deshmukh said, “I don’t know who he (Waze) is.”

The one-member K U Chandiwal Commission had been set up by the Maharashtra government to investigate the allegations of corruption made by Singh. Once the hearing is over, the Commission will submit a report on its findings to the state government.