Mumbai Crime: Police informant's guardian-angel cop shunted to preventive branch

Inspector Jagdish Sail with Bali

Once a flamboyant inspector in the crime branch, Jagdish Sail has been dealt with another blow, after the murder of his protégé, police informer Avinash Solanki alias Bali. Yesterday, he was shunted to the preventive branch. A source said Sail's closeness with Bali, who was a close friend of a drug supplier, had raised the eyebrows of the officer's seniors.

Bad company
Highly-placed sources told mid-day that Sail was sidelined after his photograph with Bali, who was brutally killed in Andheri East, allegedly by his friend Nilesh Shukla, embarrassed senior IPS officers. "As per the order, I have been temporarily attached to the preventive branch. I don't know the reason behind this," Sail told mid-day. The source said, "A decade ago, Shukla was arrested under the NDPS Act. It was Bali who got him bailed out, and they became friends."

The source said Bali had come in contact with Sail when he was attached to Oshiwara police station. "Initially, he used to serve tea and snacks to Sail. Soon, he started giving him vital information related to cases. Sail started treating him as a younger brother; he took him along as his close informer wherever he was transferred," the source added.

Friend or Brutus?
Sail also introduced Bali to Anti-Narcotics Cell inspector Anil Jadhav, who was later arrested by the Raigad police for supplying drugs at a rave party in June 2011."It was Bali who had tipped off the Raigad police... Jadhav's arrest became a big blot on the Maharashtra Police. Senior IPS officers warned Sail not to get close to Bali, but Sail ignored the advice," said the source.

In 2016, Sail was transferred to the preventive branch for allegedly keeping a high-end stolen car in the compound of MV Cell at the Yellow Gate police station after a complaint was filed at Khar police station. Mumbai Police PRO, Manjunath Singe said, "It's a routine transfer for administrative convenience."

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Avinash Solanki's Killer Claims He Has No Memory Of Committing The Crime

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