Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh destroyed a vital piece of evidence of the brutal 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that could have played a crucial role in the investigation of the terrorist massacre, according to retired Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP) Samsher Khan Pathan.
Former ACP Pathan claimed that Param Bir had taken the mobile phone seized from the 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict Mohammed Ajmal Kasab and vandalized it.
Pathan drafted an elaborate letter to file a written complaint against Param Bir earlier this year in July. He asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to investigate this matter and take appropriate action against Param Bir.
In 2008, Param Bir was posted with the anti-terrorism squad and he took Kasab's mobile phone from a constable and never returned it, said Pathan in his letter. He also said that Singh kept the seniors in dark about this.
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The letter further mentioned that Kasab was arrested on November 26, 2008, at the Girgaum Chowpatty and the phone was recovered from the terrorist by NR Mali who happened to be Pathan's batchmate and was posted at DB Marg police team. The phone was kept in the custody of constable Kamble which Singh later took and failed to return. The mobile was an essential piece of evidence as all the orders from the Pakistan handlers were being exchanged through the phone.
“There was a possibility that a probe of that phone would have unearthed the involvement of a few highly placed persons within India, who were hand in glove with them and facilitating the attack on our country,” Pathan told TOI.
Pathan's complaint suddenly went viral on social media on Thursday. Coincidently, Singh appeared before the Mumbai Crime Branch on Thursday to record his statement regarding the ongoing charges of extortion filed against him. Param Bir at present has several criminal cases filed against him including extortion, Antillia bomb scare, and Mansukh Hiren murder case.
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Param Bir Singh was removed from his post of Mumbai Police Chief in March 2021 and his senior, IPS officer Hemant Nagrale took the position.