Deshmukh pressured me into doing 'illegal works': Dismissed cop Waze in letter to Fadnavis

Mumbai, Aug 5 (PTI) Dismissed policeman Sachin Waze has claimed in a letter that former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh pressured him to do several "illegal works" with the latter also saying on occasions that the task had come from "Pawar saheb".

On Monday, Waze, who is in judicial custody at present, informed the Special Judge for MPs and MLAs cases AU Kadam about the letter he had written to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on July 30.

"During Anil Deshmukh's tenure, the level of work of the (state) Home Ministry fell to the lowest level. I am also a victim. Under pressure from Deshmukh, I was forced to do many illegal works that should not have been done by an officer like me. In many cases, Deshmukh used to say 'this work has come from Patil Saheb' and get the work done," he claimed in the letter.

"I did not dare to ask who exactly was meant by 'Pawar Saheb'," Waze further claimed in the letter that he had written from jail.

His letter further mentioned that Deshmukh pressured many people in the names of "big Pawar saheb" and "Patil saheb".

"His group collected crores for transfers and promotions of police officers. Some things happened, but most didn't," Waze's letter said.

In the letter, Waze claimed, during his stint in the crime intelligence unit, his team had carried out the biggest raid on hookah parlours in the city till date.

"We seized the biggest illegal hookah distributor in India and sealed his godown. At that time, instead of arresting the main distributor, former minister Jayant Patil ordered me to arrest someone else," the letter alleged.

Waze's letter also referred to the Chandiwal Commission, which was formed by the then MVA government to probe the corruption allegations against Deshmukh.

Justice Chandiwal rejected Deshmukh's attempts to pressure the investigation, Waze claimed in the letter.

Deshmukh's close aide Palande worked in an important position without any legal appointment for more than a year, the dismissed policeman further claimed in the letter.

"Deshmukh violated confidentiality during the Chandiwal Committee inquiry. He misused confidential documents even after resigning, breaking the Official Secrets Act. I have proof of this. This is not just a breach of ministerial confidentiality but a violation of the strict Official Secrets Act," Waze claimed in the letter.

The dismissed policeman claimed he was falsely implicated in a crime during the Chandiwal Commission investigation.

"A senior police officer and a lawyer pressured me to give specific answers. I have clearly mentioned this before the committee and in court," he added.

IPS officer Param Bir Singh, in March 2021, alleged that Deshmukh, then home minister, had given a target to police officers to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

Former assistant police inspector Waze, arrested in the 'Antilia' bomb scare case in March 2021, too had levelled similar allegations.

The HC had, in April 2021, directed the CBI to carry out a preliminary inquiry.

The CBI, based on this inquiry, registered an FIR against Deshmukh and his associates for alleged corruption and misuse of official power.

Besides CBI, the case is also being probed by Enforcement Directorate( ED ) under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Deshmukh is currently out on bail.

The NCP (SP) leader had recently rubbished the allegations made by Waze. PTI AVI BNM