Maharashtra home department officials on Friday said they do not think that former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh would have fled the country as the lookout notice against him was issued in July, which could make it difficult for him to escape out of India. The home department has asked for an official communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs about the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer whereabouts and has initiated the procedure of the suspension of the officer.

Highly-placed officials in the home department have said that the lookout notice against Singh was issued in an extortion case filed against him by a businessman.

“The central agencies have informed us unofficially that Singh has fled the country. Leaving the country after the issuance of the lookout notice is not possible. He must have either fled before it or might have adopted illegal means to slip out of the country,” an official said after a meeting of senior home department officials convened by state home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Friday.

The state government has begun the procedure for his suspension but wants the case to be fool-proof to stand legal scrutiny.

“There are multiple criminal cases filed against Singh in the past few months. He has not appeared before the state-appointed Chandiwal commission of inquiry. He has not intimated the state government after his medical leave was over 30 days ago. The suspension has been proposed but the director general of police has been asked to make the case fool-proof by giving reasoning that stand the legal scrutiny,” the official said.

The decision over the suspension in expected to be taken in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government has helped Singh flee the country.

“It has come to the fore that Singh’s last location was Ahmedabad, which is under BJP rule and considered as the epicentre of the ruling party. The Central government under BJP has been using IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and IPS officers against the Opposition and their governments to defame them. In the Sachin Vaze (Antilia explosives scare) case, the investigation was taken over by central agencies, when the Centre realised that Singh could be arrested for his involvement in the Mansukh Hiran murder case and after the CCTV footage went missing from the commissioner’s office. By transferring the probe to central agencies, the Centre has saved Singh from arrest and covered up the fact that there was Centre’s hand behind the conspiracy to defame the state government.”

Leader of opposition in state and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Patole keeps speaking senselessly on sensitive issues. I don’t feel necessary to take his cognisance.”

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil had said on Thursday that investigating agencies were looking for Singh who was incommunicado for two months.

“A civil service officer needs the approval of the Central government (to leave the country). The Union home ministry is also finding his whereabouts. We have no clue about his whereabouts and we, too, are searching for him,” he said.

The minister said it was not appropriate of Singh if he has fled the country.

“There will be action taken against him. It could be under the various provisions of the law. It could be disciplinary action for remaining absent from duty without informing the authorities. The action is not important, his appearance before the agencies is. The action against him by the state government is not owing to any vendetta but it is a routine procedure which will be followed,” Walse Patil said in Mumbai.

Singh was removed as Mumbai’s top cop on March 17, following the Antilia explosives scare and the subsequent murder of Hiran. He was shifted to the Maharashtra home guards on March 22.

On April 7, Singh appeared before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to record his statement in connection with the two cases. Later, he was summoned by the federal agency, but he did not respond to the summons.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole questioned whether the Centre had helped Singh to flee the country.

“Had he been detained by the central agencies investigating Antilia explosive scare case, significant information could have been extracted from him. The investigating agencies have raised doubts about his whereabouts but the question remains unanswered if the Centre facilitated him to go out of the country,” he said.

Singh had last attended his office on May 4 and went on leave from May 5, on account of health issues.

It is believed that Singh had gone to his hometown in Chandigarh. In between, he had communicated with the Maharashtra government, requesting for extension of his leave due to health issues. He has also claimed that he had undergone a surgery. In mid-August, he requested an extension for the leave over health grounds. But, thereafter, no request has come from him, said a police officer requesting anonymity.

An inquiry commission headed by retired Bombay high court judge, justice (retired) Kailas Uttamchand Chandiwal in early September issued a bailable warrant against Singh for not appearing before it.

A team of the state crime investigation department (CID) that went to three of his (Singh’s) known residences in Chandigarh and Mumbai did not find him there and could not serve the warrant. As he failed to appear before the commission, it re-issued the warrant on September 21.

The next hearing of the commission is on October 6.

The commission earlier had imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on Singh twice for not appearing before the commission.

Three days after his removal as commissioner, Singh on March 20 had written an explosive letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray, accusing state’s former home minister Anil Deshmukh of instructing Vaze and other police officers to extort monthly ₹100 crore from bars, pubs, hookah parlours and other establishments in Mumbai.

Singh also approached courts with his complaint, following which the Bombay high court ordered CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the matter.