Param Bir Singh faces at least four cases of extortion. (File photo)
New Delhi:
Former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh is not absconding and is in India, his lawyer told the Supreme Court today, days after the court refused to grant him protection from arrest and asked for his location.
Param Bir Singh “does not want to abscond and does not want to run anywhere” but faces a threat to his life, his lawyer told the Supreme Court.
“The moment he touches the land in Maharashtra he faces a threat from the Mumbai Police,” the lawyer said.
“There are people like bookies and others indulged in illegal activities who have filed FIRs against him,” he added.
“If the former police commissioner of Mumbai says that he faces a threat from the Mumbai Police then what kind of message does it send,” questioned Justice SK Kaul.
Mr Singh faces at least four cases of extortion and so far, reports had suggested that he may have fled the country.
In the last hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court had questioned where he was.
“Where are you? Are you in this country or outside? In some state? Where are you? We will come to the remaining. First, we need to know where you are,” the court had said.
Mr Singh’s lawyer had he argued that he can “get out of the hole” if he is “allowed to breathe”. The judges responded sharply: “Look at the lack of confidence in the system. He was the police commissioner, but we are not going to treat him any differently. He is seeking protection. Are you saying that he will come to India only if the courts protect him?”
