The Hindu : 'Mumbai police chief was not asked to go on leave'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003

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National

'Mumbai police chief was not asked to go on leave'

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI Nov. 17. The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde, today denied that the Government had asked the controversial Mumbai Police Commissioner, Ranjit Singh Sharma, to go on leave.

Mr. Shinde said the Government could not force any officer to go on leave. Mr. Sharma had asked for leave and the Government sanctioned it, he told reporters in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had interrogated Mr. Sharma, as per the directive of the Bombay High Court, to ascertain his role in the flawed investigation of the multi-crore stamp scam and had submitted its report to the High Court last Wednesday.

The court had forwarded it to the Chief Minister for appropriate action before November 27. Mr. Sharma is retiring on November 30. He met Mr. Shinde and Mr. Bhujbal and top bureaucrats next day and submitted his leave application.

But a few hours later, Mr. Sharma and the Home Minister denied that he was going on leave. Next day, November 14, he came to the Commissionerate to hand over the charge to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Satya Pal Singh.

Mr. Shinde repeated today that he was still in the process of taking a decision about Mr. Sharma on the basis of the SIT report. He said the report was limited to the Police Commissioner. The Chief Minister met the Governor, Mohammad Fazal, today but refused to give the details saying that they were administrative matters and it was not proper to disclose them.

About the demand for handing over the investigation to the CBI, Mr. Shinde said the High Court which was hearing the PIL filed by the Anti-Corruption Crusader, Anna Hazare, was considering the question of a CBI probe. "It is sub judice and therefore improper for me to say anything about it.'' But he was happy with the work done by the SIT and felt no need to ask the CBI to probe the case.

Allahabad HC demands probe

UNI reports from Allahabad:

A division bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked the Centre, particularly the Union Finance Ministry, to conduct an inquiry into the multi-crore stamp scam with nationwide ramifications.

The court wanted cases to be registered after obtaining reports from the States. It directed the Finance Ministry to submit a report in the court by December 10.

The Bench consisting of Justices S.K. Agrawal and K.N. Sinha passed the order on a writ petition filed by S.K. Srivastava. The court has stayed the arrest of the petitioner in the matter.

`State can recommend CBI probe'

UNI reports from Bhopal:

The Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, today said that a CBI inquiry into the scam could be carried out only on a recommendation of the State Government or a directive of the High Court.

``The State Government has so far not asked the Centre for a CBI inquiry in this regard,'' Mr Jaitley said.

He was talking to reporters after releasing the election manifesto. An inquiry into a corruption issue falls in the domain of the particular State where the corruption had occurred, he said.

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