Amid the rumors circulating that he had absconded, the Mumbai ex-police chief appeared at the crime branch office here on Thursday. He had been found missing since last October in Maharashtra, where he faces at least four extortion cases.
After coming from Chandigarh, Param Bir Singh told reporters at the Mumbai airport that he would join the investigation as directed by the court.
A Supreme Court order, one of the court's most controversial decisions, vouchsafed protection from arresting Mr. Singh. However, the former cop has been asked to join the investigation into extortion charges against them.
His lawyer, confirming that Mr. Singh is in India, told the court that his client does not want to abscond. He instead faces a threat to his life.
"I do not want it to appear in court, I am afraid. I have full faith in the system. I am ready to appear before a CBI court, but I seem to be being pursued. I am suffering..." Mr. Singh had said.
Bemused by the response, the court asked: " If a former police commissioner of Mumbai says he faces threats from the Mumbai Police, then what message does that convey? " It was then ultimately decided that the officer shall join the investigation but need not be arrested. Meanwhile, Mr. Singh was asked first to reveal himself by the same court last week, which refused to grant him any sort of protection.
Mr. Singh was found missing following his transfer as the Mumbai Police Commissioner and just after accusing Anil Deshmukh, the then Maharashtra home minister, of corruption. The accused has since been arrested and is now in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate. Mr. Singh level dramatic leans against Mr. Deshmukh after his transfer, accusing him of aging Police officers to collect money from hotel and bar owners, which Deshmukh denied.
It is into the notice that Param Bir Singh transferred just after the Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze was arrested in connection with Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case and the Mysterious Death of the Businessman Mansukh Hiran. Despite being just an assistant police inspector, Mr. Waze was found intimate with Param Bir Singh, and he was shifted after Sachin Waze's arrest by the NIA.