Maharashtra Home Minister's Video As Flight Ticket Contradicts "Alibi"

Anil Deshmukh is facing calls for his removal after sacked Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that the minister had drafted many policemen into the job of collecting Rs 100 crore a month.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, fending off allegations that he had discussed a Rs 100-crore extortion racket with a controversial police officer at his home last month, has tweeted a video defending himself after the alibi put forth by his party chief Sharad Pawar yesterday raised questions. Anil Deshmukh is facing calls for his removal after sacked Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that the minister had drafted many policemen into the job of collecting Rs 100 crore a month and these included Sachin Waze, the officer arrested in the Mukesh Ambani bomb scare case. The letter accused Mr Deshmukh of meeting with Sachin Waze at his home around mid-February. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar, ruling out Mr Deshmukh's resignation, said on Monday that the allegations are from a time when the minister was in hospital. Mr Pawar said Mr Deshmukh was in hospital from February 5 to 15 and in home isolation in Nagpur from February 15 to 27. "We will share all these records with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The question of resignation does not arise now," added Mr Pawar. Soon after, an airline ticket in Mr Deshmukh's name for a private flight from Nagpur to Mumbai on February 15 started circulating, which was seen to confirm that he was, in fact, in Mumbai during that critical time period.