The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three preliminary enquiries against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to examine the allegations of corruption and abuse of official position.
The move comes about two weeks after the agency, following a Supreme Court directive, took over the probe into five cases registered by the Maharashtra Police against Mr. Singh and others.
Four of the five cases taken over earlier by the CBI are related to charges of extortion, cheating, wrongful confinement, kidnapping for ransom and other offences. One case was registered by the Maharashtra Police under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Protection of Civil Rights Act, and the Maharashtra Police Act, apart from various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
On March 24, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI to conduct further investigation into the five cases.
“We are of the view that the State itself should have allowed the CBI to carry out the investigation. We are of the prima facie view that there is some concerted effort which needs the investigation by CBI. What is the truth, who is at fault, how does such a scenario come to prevail is something which investigation must get into. CBI must hold an impartial inquiry into all these aspects. We do not want the investigation to be influenced by the observation of this court,” the Court had said.
