Param Bir Singh (File photo)
MUMBAI: The Marine Drive police has registered a case of extortion, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy against former police commissioner Param Bir Singh, serving deputy commissioner (crime branch) Akbar Pathan, assistant commissioner Shrikant Shinde and 6-7 other police officers for allegedly trying to extort Rs 20 crore from a developer.
Within hours of filing the FIR, police also arrested builder Sanjay Punamiya, a resident of Marine Drive, and an associate Sunil Jain. They were produced before the 8th Metropolitan Magistrate court, which remanded them to police custody till July 27.
Punamiya and complainant Shyam Sunder Agarwal were partners in realty projects in Gorai, Borivli and Bhayander, but they parted ways in 2011 after a dispute. The complaint says Punamiya used his links with Singh over the years to intimidate and extort funds from Agarwal after they fell out.