Maharashtra govt drops charges against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh

Param Bir Singh retired on June 30 last year so the period from the date the suspension order was issued, December 12, 2021, to June 30, will be treated as him being on duty.

An official said that while Singh has already retired, the order will impact the pension that retired IPS officers get from the government. (File)

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The Maharashtra government has dropped charges against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and revoked his suspension by the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

In 2021, soon after the Antilia bomb scare case in which explosives were kept outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, a friction broke out between Singh, the then Mumbai Police Commissioner, and the then state home minister Anil Deshmukh. After Singh was shunted out, he wrote a letter alleging corruption on the part of Deshmukh and resigned. Later, the MVA government registered five FIRs against Singh on charges of extortion and similar offences following which he was placed under suspension in December 2021.

Although Singh had retired on June 30 last year, the period from the day he was suspended, December 12, 2021, to the day he resigned, will now be treated as him being on duty. An official said the order will impact the pension that retired IPS officers get from the government.

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The order issued by the Maharashtra Home Department on May 10 read, “The memorandum of charges dated 02/12/2021 issued against Shri. Param Bir Singh, IPS (Retd) under Rule 8 of All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 is being withdrawn and the said matter is being closed.”

The order regarding the revocation of his suspension issued on the same day read, “As per the provisions of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules. 1958, the suspension of Shri. Param Bir Singh. IPS (Retd) is revoked by this order and the period of suspension from 02/12/2021 to 30/06/2022 shall be treated as a period spent on duty for all purposes.”

During the course of investigation, Singh was questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Antilia case in which his statement was recorded by the central agency.

In the chargesheet filed by the NIA, they had recorded a statement of a cyber expert who had claimed that Singh had paid him money to prepare a report that a message uploaded on a telegram channel post the Antilia case claiming responsibility had been uploaded from Tihar jail in Delhi.

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