Cop cover withdrawn from builders not under threat

Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik has asked the force to withdraw police protection from builders if they are not currently under threat from underworld elements. He has asked various police departments to run a background check on all builders who have availed of police security. The threat assessment comes after investigations revealed that a large number of trained police personnel have become tools for builders who use them for their own ends, even as police forces run dry of man power, sources said.u00a0

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Vatkhar, said, "We are withdrawing security personnel from builders who are not under threat. Many have availed of police protection for the past many years without any palpable danger." He added, "This has left builders to seek private security against the underworld." The circular, which has filtered down to the level of senior police inspectors, instructs them to draw a list of builders in their jurisdiction, who currently have no threat perception. A few builders have already been notified that their security is being withdrawn.

Misusing personnel
Police sources confirmed that 121 builders currently enjoy police security. And investigations have indicated that a large number have sought the protection after lodging fictitious complaints. There have been instances that developers use police personnel to intimidate encroachers off of construction sites and land. Police investigations point to how some builders have been using gun-wielding policemen to scare slum dwellers into evicting their shanties. "Police guards are no strangers to settling builders' internal squabbles," a senior police officer informed.

Builders, however, say that they are still susceptible to threats from underworld dons, and revoking the security cover will imperil their lives and businesses. "We are still receiving threats from the underworld. With security removed, we will become vulnerable," said a builder from the western suburbs, who did not want to be named. The government receives Rs 1,200 a month for each constable deployed on an eight-hour. Recruiting a sub-inspector or an assistant police inspector would cost more. "It has been upgraded from Rs 700 for eight hours to Rs 1,200 recently," said Inspector General P K Jain, heading Maharashtra Suraksha Mahamandal.

Builders thwarted
The matter assumes significance in light of the fact at least three builders were gunned down by members of the Ravi Pujari gang in March this year. Two supervisors working at an under-construction building site in Amboli were killed by suspected aides of Pujari. Police suspect the killings came after an extortion threat of Rs 25 crore to builder Sudharkar Shetty, who was developing the site where the incident happened. Underworld insiders say that with the killings, Pujari is reining terror in the builder community in the western suburbs.