Didn't get any calls from Deshmukh for extortion of money: ACP Patil tells probe panel

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sanjay Patil on Tuesday told an inquiry commission that he had not received any phone calls or instructions from the then-Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on ''collection of hafta'' or extortion of money from bars or other establishments in Mumbai.

Patil made the statement during his cross-examination before the Maharashtra government-appointed inquiry commission, headed by retired Judge K U Chandiwal, which is conducting a probe into corruption allegations levelled against Deshmukh, who resigned from the state cabinet in April last year.

Referring to WhatsApp chats made public by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh, in which Patil allegedly told his then-boss about a meeting with ''HM sir (Deshmukh),'' where he discussed collection of money, the ACP said he had replied to Singh's messages under ''duress''.

The said WhatsApp chats between Singh and Patil took place in March 2021, after Singh was shunted out as the Mumbai police commissioner and transferred to the home guard department.

''There was no instruction to accumulate 'hafta' (extorting money) from bars, parlours and gambling dens. I did not receive any phone call from the ex-home minister about the above details,'' Patil told the commission.

''There was no phone call from Shri Anil Deshmukh or any other person collecting any 'hafta' from bars, parlours etc. I had not received any phone call from personal staff of Anil Deshmukh about the above referred demand, nor any such staff ever personally commanded so,'' the ACP said.

In March 2021, Singh had written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging Deshmukh, during his tenure as home minister, had asked police officers, including suspended API Sachin Waze, to collect Rs 100 crore from bars and other establishments in the city for him every month.

Among other documents, Singh had attached details of his WhatsApp chats with Patil to support his claim.

On Tuesday, Patil was shown the said WhatsApp communication during his cross- examination by Deshmukh's counsel Girish Kulkarni, by Shekhar Jagtap, the counsel for the former minister's then-personal secretary Sanjeev Palande, and by Singh's lawyer Anukul Seth.

''My answers (to messages) of March 19, 2021, were due to pressure of Shri Param Bir Singh as he was my superior. His pressure as my senior officer existed even after his transfer from the post of Commissioner of Police,'' Patil told the probe panel.

The Maharashtra government had set up the commission in March last year to conduct a probe into corruption allegations levelled against Deshmukh by Singh, who has now been suspended.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are separately probing the allegations made against Deshmukh by Singh.

The senior NCP leader was arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case on November 2, 2021, and is currently in judicial custody.