3 min readMumbaiMay 5, 2023 11:03 AM IST
First published on: May 5, 2023 at 01:01 AM IST
Three policemen from the Samta Nagar police station, including two officers, have been suspended for allegedly assaulting and extracting money as penalty from two doctors. The duo were detained at the police station, beaten and kept standing for three hours, for allegedly flouting traffic rules. A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against the policemen in the matter.
The suspended policemen —inspector Prakash Vasant Pawar, sub-inspector Prafulla Bhausaheb Masal, and police naik Sachin Ramrao Patil — are all attached to Samta Nagar police station. They were suspended on the complaint of Dr Sarthak Rathi.
According to police sources, Dr Rathi and his friend Dr Shirish Rao, on April 25, were caught by the policemen for flouting traffic rules and were brought to the police station for further penalty.
“Dr Rathi and Dr Rao were made to stand in the station house room for three hours (3.30 pm to 6.30 pm). The accused cops also allegedly yelled and argued with them when they were taken to pay the fine,” the source said.
The two doctors were also allegedly taken to the inquiry room, where suspected criminals are often interrogated. There, the accused policemen also allegedly assaulted both of them with a belt, which is generally used when interrogating criminals. Later, sub-inspector Masal and police naik Patil allegedly extracted Rs 25,000 from Dr Rao, the source added.
After Dr Rathi complained to the senior police officer concerned, the sequences of events was found to be true in the preliminary inquiry.
In this inquiry, CCTV footage from the police station was obtained, and one of the doctors was seen entering and coming out of the inquiry room.
“During the inquiry, the senior police officer also observed that the day police inspector Prakash Pawar seemed to ignore how the two doctors were made to stand for three hours for traffic violations.”
Pawar also failed to ask questions or instruct his juniors regarding lawful action regarding the alleged traffic rule violation. He also failed to supervise the situation and guide juniors on time, ensuring timely action, and was thus found guilty,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.
“The Additional Commis-sioner of Police for the north region, Rajiv Jain, supervised the inquiry and after finding evidence against the three policemen in the preliminary inquiry, suspended them from duty. The three policemen have been suspended, pending a departmental inquiry,” the police officer added. In the inquiry, police will record the statements of witnesses and will also rely on CCTV footage.
The senior police officer did not respond to phone calls and messages regarding the incident.
According to police sources, Dr Rathi and his friend Dr Shirish Rao, on April 25, were caught by the policemen for flouting traffic rules and were brought to the police station for further penalty.
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