CBI submits closure report in extortion case against Param Bir Singh

Thane: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought to close a case registered against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and others for alleged extortion, citing lack of substantial evidence.

The agency submitted a closure report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thane, on January 18.

The court is likely to take up the report for consideration in February.

The CBI in its report said the facts and circumstances in the case do not substantiate the allegations or disclose any incriminating evidence for launching prosecution against any of the accused persons.

"The incident that occurred during 2016-2017 was reported in 2021. By this time the evidence which would have been instrumental in finding out the truth is not available," the closure report said.

The case was initially lodged at Kopri police station in Mumbai's neighbouring Thane city in July 2021 by local businessman Sharad Agarwal, who claimed that Singh and the other accused, who include a former deputy commissioner of police and some real estate developers, had allegedly threatened and extorted Rs 2 crore from him to acquire his land.

The case was later transferred to the CBI.

The agency in its closure report said it has verified the allegations made by the complainant and noted that it lacked corroborative evidence.

The report highlighted the absence of any independent evidence to support the complainant's claims.

The CBI said Agarwal had willingly entered into a settlement to give his land without any pressure or fear.

"The allegations made by the complainant are not corroborated by any independent evidences. The complaint was lodged almost after a lapse of five years from the date of occurrence," the CBI said in its report.

The complainant could not provide any details to substantiate his claims, it added.

The extortion case is one of the many FIRs lodged against Singh in Maharashtra in 2021, when he accused the then state home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption.

Singh made these allegations after he was shunted out as Mumbai police commissioner in March 2021 following the arrest of dismissed police officer Sachin Waze in the case of an explosives-laden vehicle found near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in south Mumbai.