Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria
24 hours after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought an explanation, Mumbai's top cop Rakesh Maria has submitted a new, detailed report on a meeting he held last year in London with Lalit Modi, wanted in India to answer charges of corruption, tax evasion and money laundering linked to his term as the chief of the Indian Premier League or IPL.
News broke last week of what Mr Maria, the Mumbai Police Commissioner, has since described as a 15-minute meeting held allegedly at Mr Modi's request. Mr Maria has described as "false and malicious" reports that this meeting was arranged by Vinod Goenka, a businessman on trial in the telecom scam. Mr Maria has maintained in the report handed over to the Fadnavis government today that he was approached through Lalit Modi's London based advocate to discuss what Mr Modi claimed was a threat to his life. Like Mr Maria, Mr Goenka has also denied to NDTV reports that he was connected with the meeting.
Mr Maria has said in his defense that he had informed RR Patil, then the Home Minister of Maharashtra, of the session, where Mr Modi allegedly revealed details of security threats to his family and him in London.
Mr Maria did not respond directly to questions from NDTV about whether the claim by Lalit Modi that his life is at risk was one that the police force was taking seriously, citing the details he has submitted in police records as "confidential". Interestingly, Nationalist Congress Party or NCP leader Sharad Pawar, speaking to NDTV argued that there "was some substance" to these apprehensions and that he corroborated Mr Modi's claim (made to Mr Pawar, also in a meeting in London, four weeks ago) with "a senior Mumbai police officer". Mr Pawar also said, like Mr Maria, he urged Lalit Modi to return to India
Mr Modi's seemingly easy access to top officers and politicians while in London has plunged the government into a mammoth controversy. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention last year helped him get urgent travel documents from UK officials last year; Mrs Swaraj has said that her assistance was on humanitarian grounds since Mr Modi wanted to accompany his wife for medical treatment to Portugal. Another top BJP leader, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, filed a document backing his immigration appeal in the UK, Mr Modi has alleged, adding that the politician sought confidentiality from Indian authorities for her "secret" affidavit.
Maria statement last week on Modi meeting: