Look-Out Circular against 28, including former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh

Former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh. File pic/Ashish Raje

In a major development on Wednesday, the Thane police initiated the process of issuing a Look Out Circular (LOC) against 28 people, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, and DCP and PI rank officers. The Thane police recently registered two different FIRs of extortion and cheating against Singh and other officers.

"A process of issuing LOC has been initiated," confirmed a senior Thane police officer. The LOC has been issued by Indian authorities to stop criminals from crossing the borders and to check whether the person travelling is wanted by the police. The local authorities send details of the accused to the Immigration Bureau in Delhi which issues the LOC by alerting borders and the airports to ensure that the accused don't escape.

Singh and 28 people were recently booked by Thane police in two different cases of extortion and cheating. The first FIR was registered at Kopri Police station by a real estate businessman, Sharad Agarwal, saying Rs 20 crore was demanded by a DCP rank officer at Singh's bungalow in 2016 when he was the Commissioner of Thane police. The second FIR was registered at Thane Nagar police station by a bookie named Ketan Tanna, levelling similar allegations."

"This is a normal procedure that we have been following to ensure that the accused don't escape," added the officer, about the LOC. So far four FIRs of extortion, cheating and under the atrocities act have been registered against Singh. Messages sent to Singh remained unanswered.

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