Suspend those who allowed murder-accused cop speak to media: MVA

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Congress on Saturday demanded to know how dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze facing murder charges was allowed to speak to the media when he was being escorted for a medical checkup in the morning.

Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies have slammed the MahaYuti government after Vaze hurled allegations before the media against former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh while being taken for a medical check-up by the police.

“The entire matter is very serious. It must be probed how Vaze was permitted to address the media as prisoners in custody are not allowed to communicate with the media or others. The police officers in whose charge he was must be immediately suspended,” demanded Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe.

Vaze sparked a political furore when he alleged that Deshmukh used to collect bribe money through his personal assistant, that he had written to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and that the Central Bureau of Investigation had all the evidence in the matter, besides hinting at the involvement of other MVA politicians.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and Nationalist Congress Party (SP)’s ex-Home Minister Deshmukh also slammed MahaYuti ally BJP, accusing it of "using a murder accused to defend itself" after the incident.

“The BJP is running scared… That’s why they have to take the support of a criminal jailed in a murder case to act as its spokesperson and defend the party,” said Raut.

Referring to certain statements made by Vaze, Raut said the BJP has stooped to a new law by making such an accused person issue statements in its favour.

“Vaze is an accused (in the Antilla terror case of 2021), but he is now made to speak like a BJP spokesperson. They have to take the help of a criminal and terrorist to protect themselves,” Raut added.

Deshmukh said that just last week he had revealed how Fadnavis had allegedly conspired three years back to throw ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya to jail.

Deshmukh reiterated that the BJP was (then) forcing him to sign an affidavit prepared by them to implicate the Thackerays under the threat of central investigation agencies, but he (Deshmukh) refused to succumb, and had to spend 13 months in jail in an alleged corruption case.

“I made those matters public. Vaze is a person with a criminal background... He was arrested for two murders and is currently in jail. What Vaze did today is a new tactic of Fadnavis, hence his (Vaze's) statements have no credibility – even the Bombay High Court had said the same in its verdict,” Deshmukh said.

Londhe said, “It is very clear who is making (Vaze) utter all this, as the BJP has repeatedly misused central probe agencies and had also conspired with former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to frame MVA leaders in different cases."

The Congress leader also claimed that Deshmukh and social activist Shyam Manav had exposed Fadnavis and as a face-saver to hide the truth, they (BJP) brought out the imprisoned Vaze to speak on their behalf.

“When Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, ex-Maharashtra ministers Deshmukh, Nawab Malik, and others were sent to jail, they were never allowed to interact with the media. So how, and at whose instance, was Vaze given the privilege? Who is so close to him in the MahaYuti government,” asked Londhe.

The matter raged all day with sharp reactions and counter-comments coming from ruling BJP leaders like Girish Mahajan, Nitesh N. Rane, and the MVA’s Sushma Andhare, among others.