TheNationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday said that there is no question ofparty leader and Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh's resignation in wakeof the sensational allegations levelled against him by former Mumbai PoliceCommissioner Param Bir Singh.
Aftera marathon meeting at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's 6 Janpath residence here,NCP's Maharashtra unit President Jayant Patil said: "There is no questionof Anil Deshmukh's resignation. Maharashtra ATS and the NIA are investigatingboth Antilia bomb scare and Mansukh Hiren murder cases and everyone believethat the culprit will be punished soon.
"Wehave full faith in the ATS and NIA investigation and believe that the mainculprit will be booked... the Maharashtra government is cooperating in theinvestigation."
SeniorNCP leader and former Union Minister Praful Patel, Maharashtra Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar, Patil, and Pawar's daughter and MP Supriya Sule werepresent in the meeting.
Itis also learnt that senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Kamal Nath and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also visited Pawar's house.
Earlieraddressing a press conference, Pawar said: "This is a really important andsensitive case. An in-depth enquiry should be conducted by an officer or anindividual who enjoys utmost respect of the police administration and thepublic at large."
Hesuggested that former Maharashtra police chief and former Mumbai PoliceCommissioner, Julio Francis Ribeiro should be assigned to probe the issue.
"He(Ribeiro) has a great reputation and if he accepts this responsibility then thetruth will definitely come to the fore and the public at large will startbelieving more in the police and in the government, in particular," Pawarsaid.
FormerMumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh has set off a major row on Saturday when healleged that Deshmukh had asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector SachinVaze, who has been arrested in the SUV case and is in NIA custody, to collectRs 100 crore from Mumbai's restaurants, bars and hookah bars.