Family of dead customs officer suspects foul play

Seeks copy of probe report indicting him for collusion with smugglers.

THE FAMILY of customs officer Rishi Ranjan, who allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself before a running train, visited the Director of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Mumbai office on Monday demanding a copy of the inquiry report that indicted him for allegedly colluding with smugglers. The family suspects Ranjan was “killed” and did not commit suicide.

“DRI illegally detained him for three days in connection with a smuggling case. He returned home only on August 14, the next day we heard that his body was found near a railway track in Panvel. We suspect he was killed,” a relative told The Indian Express.

Later in the day on Monday, Additional Director General (ADG), DRI, Mumbai, PK Dash met the father and brother of the deceased and shared the facts of the case. “The allegations that Ranjan was detained are unsound. We never detained him. I met the father and the brother and shared the details of the case. What happened is very unfortunate but the probe against the officer was based on evidence,” Dash told The Indian Express.

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The 33-year-old customs appraiser at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) reportedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a Harbour Line train near Khandeshwar railway station on Saturday morning. Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case of suicide.

When contacted, GRP Commissioner Madhukar Pandey said, “The family members have so far not filed any complaint with us. We are probing if he was driven by any person to commit suicide and if so, that person will be booked for abetment,” he said.

“We have written to the agency and sought details of the probe,” a GRP officer said.

The GRP says they may take the help of former DRI officers to determine if the inquiry by the agency was fair. “We don’t have the mandate to question the inquiry by another agency but since the suicide note recovered from the scene of crime names two DRI officers, we will seek help from an expert, preferably a former officer with the agency to ascertain if the probe was indeed fair,” a senior officer said.

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On July 29, DRI officials had seized a container in which smuggled cigarettes worth Rs 4.24 crore were hidden in a consignment marked trolley bags. Three persons were arrested by the DRI. The arrest also led to suspension of Ranjan, as he was in-charge of this container freight station (CFS) import zone at the time. Meanwhile, sources in DRI said the inquiry had indicted Ranjan. “The container cleared by him did not contain the declared goods, instead a huge cache of cigarettes was found,”said a senior officer.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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