MUMBAI: Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday that the transfer of Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh was “not routine” but because of “serious lapses found in the preliminary probe” into the case of recovery of explosives from a car parked outside industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the murder of Thane businessman Mansukh Hiran.
“The lapses were not acceptable,” he said. “They pertained to the CP’s office and his subordinates. Therefore, I and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray decided to shift him immediately for an impartial probe,” he added.
Deshmukh said the probe conducted so far by the NIA and ATS had revealed that serious lapses were committed by the police chief ’s subordinates, “which cannot be pardoned”. NIA on Saturday arrested API Sachin Waze in the explosives case.
Deshmukh, however, was non-committal on whether Singh was shifted following the intervention of Congress’ Rahul Gandhi. Deshmukh belongs to NCP, which had been asking the CM to act immediately against Singh. Shiv Sena, however, was in favour of waiting for a while.