By Dipesh D. Tripathi, Divyesh Singh: Former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh, speaking at the Mumbai Tak Baithak, spoke about his arrest in the case in which explosives were placed near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s south Mumbai residence and the time he spent in jail.

“We got to know that the explosives were planted by former Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Waze four or five days after the incident. He was posted by then Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Parambir Singh, who was very close to him. The world would be surprised to know that the former Mumbai Police Commissioner could have been involved in planting the bomb,” Deshmukh said at the event.

“Even before the case went to NIA, we came to know that it was Sachin Waze who had planted the bomb. Waze and four other officials were involved in the case. A white Innova which was used,” he said, asking how the police commissioner did not know about this when the entire machinery belonged to the police commissionerate.

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“Parambir Singh had a close relationship with Waze. Although Waze was just an assistant inspector, their close friendship went back 25 years. Some senior officers also said that there was no one other than officials from the Commissioner’s office involved in the incident. This was a serious incident and Singh was transferred to a non-executive posting before being suspended. Waze was also suspended. The two ganged up after their suspension and made allegations about a Rs 100-crore extortion racket. When they held their respective positions, why didn’t they make those allegations then?

“When Waze was an API, his suspension could be revoked and he could be posted by the commissioner. This does not concern the Home Minister. When I started receiving complaints against Waze, I called Singh and asked about Waze. He said he had known Waze for the last 25 years and that the allegations against him were baseless,” Deshmukh said.

Deshmukh also spoke about his experience in Barrack number 12 of the Arthur Road jail. “I was kept in the barracks where terrorist Ajmal Kasab was kept. The barrack was completely concealed with three inch thick iron sheets so that any attack on Kasab could be prevented. The barrack didn’t have any ventilation or natural light,” he said.

Anil Deshmukh was in jail for around a year.

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