Param Bir Singh saved from NIA arrest by BJP: Salil Deshmukh

Nagpur, Aug 10 (PTI) NCP (SP) leader Salil Deshmukh, son of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, Saturday claimed the BJP shielded ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh from the arrest by NIA in the 'Antilia' terror case and using him to level allegations against his father.

Param Bir Singh was the mastermind of planting a vehicle with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai and in the death of the vehicle driver, Salil Deshmukh claimed in a social media post.

Singh was suspended by the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government when it came to know about his role, he claimed.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was supposed to arrest Param Bir Singh in these two cases, who sought shelter under the BJP. He has started raising allegations against Anil Deshmukh on the direction of BJP leaders, the Deshmukh junior alleged.

He was responding to fresh allegations by Singh, who claimed Anil Deshmukh, as a home minister, had pressured him to file false cases against some BJP leaders.

Notably, Anil Deshmukh resigned as home minister in 2021 after Singh accused him of setting a target to collect Rs 100 crore a month from bars and restaurants.

"What he (Singh) said about efforts made to arrest me and other BJP leaders is completely true. He only talked about one incident, but there are four such incidents wherein conspiracies were hatched to arrest me in false cases," Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday.

Earlier this week, Anil Deshmukh claimed that Fadnavis had tried to save Param Bir Singh from arrest by asking him to level allegations against him (Deshmukh) to topple the MVA government. Both Fadnavis and Singh dismissed the allegations of the senior NCP (SP) leader. PTI CLS NSK