Cop caught in the act

PUNE, April 24: A railway police constable, who often accompanied senior officials on tours, has been suspended by the Superintendent of Police Railway Ankush Dhanvijay on charges of attempting to steal the luggage of a commuter stranded at the Pune railway station.

Railway police officials faced an embarrassing situation as constable R J Jagtap, dressed in plain clothes, was caught by the public while trying to steal the suitcase of a commuter and thrashed before being handed over to a policeman patrolling platform numbers 2-3 of Pune railway station late on April 17 night, Dhanvijay said.

Constable Jagtap was initially left free as the commuter did not lodge a formal complaint. However, taking a serious cognisance of the incident, preliminary inquiry was launched against Jagtap on April 18, he added.Dhanvijay suspended Jagtap and initiated departmental proceedings against him after he was found guilty of trying to commit the theft in the preliminary inquiry.

Jagtap was posted with the Pune railway police station. He often accompanied touring senior officials including Dhanvijay.