02 August,2011 06:45 AM IST | | Akela
Amanullah Khan has allegedly been extorting money from oil businessmen by conducting raids as a member of the processing industries task forceu00a0a government department that ceased to exist in March
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IF lubricant businessmen in the state are to be believed, those interested in abusing their power can take some rather useful lessons from one Amanullah Khan.
Amanullah Khan
What makes Khan such a master of his trade, they say, is that he conducts raids and extorts money from them on the strength of being a member of the task force, ministry of state for food and processing industries a department that ceased to exist in March. Khan's other weapon is the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Khan, who is in the oil business himself, has allegedly been raiding petrochemical companies with the help of the local police and his family members using his task force ID card. He threatens, uses physical force and even seals companies unless he is paid a huge ransom.
The matter came to the fore when two businessmen, Samir Jain and Vijay Vipat, lodged several complaints (copies with MiD DAY) against Khan.
The complaints state that, on July 2, Khan, his son-in-law Samir Mulani, son Harun Khan and policemen from the crime branch raided Jain's and Vipat's companies located at Indrayani Industrial Estate, Pune.
"Khan introduced himself as task force member from Delhi. He gave his own visiting card too. He then snatched the mobile phones of all the employees and asked them to stand in a row. He even thrashed my company's senior production manager, S K Singh," said Vipat.
When Khan asked for documents, Vipat and Jain showed them all the licences and samples but they were taken to the police station and arrested late in the night under Sections 420, 285 and 34 of IPC.
"We have all seven licences and other mandatory documents. Only one licence is being renewed, but the police arrested me and sealed the company," said Jain.
Non-existent
When Jain and Vipat contacted the concerned department in Delhi, they were informed in writing (correspondence copies with MiD DAY) that the task force ceased to exist on March 16, 2011.
According to Jain, Khan has also used the RTI Act to blackmail the other businessmen. He has conducted raids in Solapur, Ahmednagar, Osmanabad and Pune.
The Other Side
"It is true that I am not a member of the task force at present, but I conducted the raid as an RTI activist. I am 57 years old and a diabetic, how can I beat anyone up?
They are defaming me. My company has a turnover of Rs 18 crore, why should I blackmail anyone? This is a big racket.
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I am going to file a writ petition in the Bombay High Court against the oil mafia. If you help me, I will expose the entire racket," said Amanullah Khan.
Sandeep Karnik, superintendent of police, Pune, said, "The matter is known to me. Amanullah Khan has conducted raids in several cities and I have asked my officers to probe the matter and unearth the truth."
