MUMBAI: Former city police commissioner Param Bir Singh has told the ED “there was direct pressure from home minister Anil Deshmukh and direct instructions from Aaditya Thackeray and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray” to reinstate (now-dismissed) cop Sachin Waze.
Waze, who was assistant police inspector, was suspended for around 16 years for his role in the alleged killing of Khwaja Yunus in police custody. He was reinstated in June 2020. Singh said he was instructed to post Waze to the crime branch of the city police. He told the ED that Waze later claimed Deshmukh had demanded Rs 2 crore for this posting.
Pointing to Waze’s statement to ED that he was collecting money from bar owners for “No. 1”, Singh said the term is used by cops for the home minister, while the police chief is referred to as “king”.
