The first charge sheet was filed on Saturday against suspended Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and suspended assistant police officer Sachin Vaze in an extortion case against them.
The charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Crime Branch includes Sumit Singh alias Chintu and Alpesh Patel, who are currently in police custody, and accused Riyaz Bhati and Vinay Singh alias Babloo.
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Mr. Param Bir Singh’s protection from arrest granted by the Supreme Court will end on December 6. On November 13, the Mumbai Crime Branch initiated the process to declare Mr. Singh an absconding accused. On November 17, he was declared as an absconding accused. However, the order was soon cancelled. He was suspended on December 2 over “irregularities and lapses.”
The case is about builder-hotelier Bimal Agarwal complaining about alleged extortion by Mr. Singh and Mr. Vaze. An FIR was filed by him at Goregaon on August 21 against all the accused. Mr. Agarwal alleged that Mr. Vaze, at Mr. Param Bir Singh’s behest, extorted ₹9 lakh from him for not conducting raids in two bars owned by him.
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They are booked under sections 384 (punishment for extortion), 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 388 (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.