Caught partying with gangsters,five Mumbai cops suspended

A departmental inquiry has been initiated against all five policemen,and if found guilty,they could be dismissed from the force. On Friday,state home minister R.R. Patil had ordered a probe into the allegations.

Sources revealed that the Mumbai Police have incriminating photographs of the officers attending the party organised at the Chembur Gymkhana on December 25 by a very close aide and former chauffeur of Rajan. Among those who attended the party were Rajan aides D K Rao,Sunil Poddar,Farid Tanasha and Amit Mitbaukar,who have either completed their prison terms recently or are out on bail.

Rao,once Rajans right-hand man,was released from jail after a 13-year term in October last year when he was acquitted of 30 cases of murder and extortion against him. While in prison,he was accused of running Rajans gang from inside Arthur Road prison in Mumbai. He was even accused of the murder of another Rajan aide O P Singh in Nashik prison in 2002.

When contacted,Salve said: I am not aware of any such recommendation for my suspension and have not received any intimation as such. I was not present at any such party. The allegations against me are absolutely baseless.

Reacting to the allegations,Khakale also denied attending the party or having received any intimation from anyone about the recommendation of suspension.

Wani confirmed that he had been to the Chembur club that night as a member,but added,I had gone there with my family for dinner at the restaurant which is away from the place where the other party was allegedly taking place. It is common sense that even if I had been invited and had decided to attend,I would not attend such an event with my family.

It is obvious that someone saw me at the club with my family but assumed that I was attending the alleged party. As it is,we policemen get scolded by family members for not spending quality time with them and when we do try to give them some time by taking them out for dinner,such things happen to us, Wani said.

The other two policemen involved were not available for comment.

This episode is nothing new for the Mumbai Police,as officers have been accused of being in cahoots with the underworld in the past as well. In August 2008,famed encounter specialist Senior Police Inspector Pradeep Sharma was dismissed from the force after Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor served him dismissal orders under Article 311 of the Constitution for his unsatisfactory prior record. His dismissal followed a probe into his alleged links with the underworld.

In July 2005,then Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy exercised his powers under Article 311 to sack Senior Police Inspector Aslam Momin for nexus with the Dawood Ibrahim gang. According to the police,Momin was found to have links with Dawood and his brother Noora.