NCP leaders, Sanjay Raut meet Pawar amid controversy over Param Bir Singh's letter

New Delhi, Mar 21: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state unit NCP chief Jayant Patil, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Sunday evening in view of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh''s allegations of corruption against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

The meetings took place hours after Pawar told reporters that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh, an NCP leader, amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

Singh has claimed that Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in Mumbai.

The NCP along with the Shiv Sena is part of the Mahavikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

During a media briefing before the meeting, the NCP president said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh

His comments came amid speculation in state political circles that Maharashtra may soon have a new home minister.

The allegations levelled by Singh against Deshmukh are serious and require an in-depth probe, Sharad Pawar said.

Before the meeting at Sharad Pawar''s residence here, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had also met him.

Singh, a senior IPS officer, who was transferred to the low-key Home Guards on March 17 following the arrest of police officer Sachin Waze in the case related to the bomb scare near Mukesh Ambani''s house Antilia, in a letter to the Maharashtra chief minister said he was made a scapegoat.

In the eight-page letter to Chief Minister Thackeray, Singh alleged that Deshmukh used to call police officers to his official residence and give them a "collection target" from bars, restaurants and other establishments.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister''s Office, in a release on Saturday, said Singh''s "unsigned letter to Thackeray" was not sent from his official email ID and efforts were on to contact him to verify it.