Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on Thursday arrived in Mumbai to join the investigation into the extortion cases against him, reported India Today.

Singh told India Today that he has faith in the judiciary. “Yes, I’m here to join the investigation as per the directions by the Supreme Court,” he said. “I don’t want to speak about anything [right now]. I’ll speak in court now.”

The former police chief is facing several extortion cases in Maharashtra and had been absconding. On November 17, a magistrate’s court in Mumbai had declared the former Mumbai Police chief a “proclaimed offender”.

According to Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code, proclaimed offenders are accused persons who have a warrant against them and are absconding. Under the section, the court can issue a notice to proclaimed offenders to appear within 30 days.

On Wednesday, Singh had said that he was in Chandigarh and would soon visit Mumbai, reported PTI. Asked if he would surrender before the police or the court, Singh had said he was yet to decide on his next course of action.

Singh arrived in Mumbai only after the Supreme Court had on Monday granted him interim protection from arrest but asked him join the investigations in the cases against him. The court on November 18 had refused to grant him protection until the officer disclosed his whereabouts.

During Monday’s proceedings in the Supreme Court, Singh’s lawyer senior advocate Puneet Bali had said that the former police chief was in the country but there was “threat to [his] life from Mumbai Police the moment he touches Maharashtra”.

Other allegations against Singh

In October, the Thane Police had registered five FIRs under the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Atrocities Prevention) Act, the Civil Rights Protection Act and the Maharashtra Police Act against Singh and 32 others based on a complaint from Police Inspector Bhimrao Ghadge.

Ghadge had alleged that Singh, while he was posted as the Thane police chief in 2015, had asked him not to chargesheet certain persons against whom FIRs had been registered. Ghadge also alleged that he was suspended for refusing to follow Singh’s orders.

He had subsequently approached the State Human Rights Commission against Singh but was not granted relief. In 2018, he approached the Bombay High Court.