Param Bir Singh, Pradeep Sharma record statement before NIA

Meanwhile, the CBI moved an application to grill Sachin Vaze, which was allowed

The NIA on Wednesday recorded statements of former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh and retired senior police inspector and encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma even as the CBI stepped into the probe.

During Singh's tenure as Mumbai Police chief, suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze used to report to him when he was heading the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Crime Branch-CID. Singh is currently the commandant general of Home Guards.

Sharma took VRS from police force in 2019 to join Shiv Sena and contest the Vidhan Sabha polls from Nalasopara in Palghar district, however, he lost the polls. In fact, Sharma is a mentor of Vaze and the latter was once part of his unit. Sharma, during his 36 years of service, had eliminated 103 criminals.

Read | Sachin Vaze directly reported to Param Bir Singh: Report

In various stints, Sharma has worked under Singh, an IPS officer of the 1988-batch.

Meanwhile, Vaze was produced before a special NIA court in Mumbai, which extended his custody till April 9.

Two other accused – Vinayak Shinde, a dismissed police constable sentenced to life but on parole and Naresh Gor, a cricket bookie, were sent to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, the CBI moved an application to grill Vaze, which was allowed.

In the next couple of days, CBI is expected to record the statement of Singh, who had accused former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of ordering Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars.