Amid reports of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the Hiren Mansukh death case related to the Antilia security scare incident, the Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Maharashtra government still hasn't handed over the case to the probing agency.
Moreover, the Union minister also launched a blistering attack on the Maharashtra government, accusing the state's home minister Anil Deshmukh of extorting money for police transfers.
The matter was earlier highlighted by former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, who has also accused the home minister of running an extortion racket with the help of several police officers who have been given a target of INR 100 crores a month.
Addressing a press conference, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the MVA government in Maharashtra was not named ‘Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’ but ‘Maharashtra Vasooli Aghadi’. He added the Home Minister of Maharashtra is extorting money for transfers and postings. Was the minister taking money for himself, his party or his government is yet to be known.
While speaking to the media, Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Thackeray government of taking action against IPS Rashmi Shukla for unearthing the transfer racket in Maharashtra. There is a transfer and posting racket going on in Maharashtra, he said. The investigation, conducted by Rashmi Shukla, had allegedly also named Anil Deshmukh.
According to sources, NIA, which is probing the Antilia security scare incident, is now likely to take over the investigation of the mysterious death of Hiren Mansukh as the murder conspiracy is linked to the explosives found in Scorpio car placed outside Mukesh Ambani's home.
Meanwhile, Param Bir Singh has approached the Supreme Court, seeking an impartial and fair investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the various corrupt malpractices of Anil Deshmukh. He has also challenged his transfer to Home Guards, ordered by the Maharashtra government last week over lapses into the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case.
On Monday, March 22, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, in a press conference backed the Home Minister and said that Singh made these allegations after being moved out of the Mumbai top post. He is just trying to divert attention from the investigation into the Mukesh Ambani case.