Goregaon cycle mishap: FIR against 9-year-old was filed on ACP’s order

Actor Simran Sachdeva had filed the complaint against the minor child. Pic/Instagram@simransachdevaofficial

The Vanrai officers filed an FIR against a 9-year-old boy from a Goregaon society for allegedly ramming into an elderly woman while cycling under the influence of the ACP (Dindoshi division), a departmental enquiry by Zone 12 police has found. The ACP has now claimed that it was just a misunderstanding.

According to enquiry, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sanjay Patil called Sub Inspector Tanaji Patil, the investigating officer in the case, to file a case in the matter. Tanaji also noted down the conversation in the station diary, stating that he had received a call from the ACP asking to file the case.

The complaint was filed by actor Simran Sachdeva, who alleged that the child rammed into her 62-year-old mother while cycling at Lodha Fiorenza, in Goregaon East. She claimed that her mother fell down and sustained injuries, leading to a surgery for dislocation of the hipbone.

Also read: FIR registered against 9-yr-old for accidentally crashing cycle into actor's mom

ACP Sanjay Patil claims there was a misunderstanding

According to the IPC Section 83, nothing done by a child above seven and under 12 years is an offence, as s/he has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct on a particular occasion.

The call from ACP

Sources from Vanrai police station said, "When Sachdeva approached the Vanrai police station, the duty officers [Tanaji and Rani] were not ready to register the case. Then, Tanaji received a call from ACP Sanjay Patil on landline and he ordered the FIR."

"However, in such cases, police never take action directly. They have to take the opinion of the Juvenile Justice Board or the Child Welfare Committee, but the same was not done in this case. AN FIR was filed and then police took the opinion from the Juvenile Justice Board," sources added. Zone 12 Deputy Commissioner of Police Somnath Gharge conducted an in-depth enquiry against Tanaji and station in-charge Inspector Rani Puri.

"We have already submitted the closure report in C-category (case registered due to misunderstanding) and are awaiting the court order. We have also conducted an in-depth enquiry against the two officers who registered the case and asked them to submit the detailed report, including the station diary maintained. We will enquire this further and take actions accordingly," he told mid-day. mid-day contacted Tanaji, but he refused to comment.

A case of misunderstanding

Speaking with mid-day, the minor's mother said, "Since the past five months, I have been regularly going to the court for my child's case. Officer Tanaji showed me the station diary, which said he had an order from ACP Sanjay Patil to file the case. My child is innocent and the police registered a case against him, which is illegal. I also approached the court to dissolve the case. It has asked the police to explain why they filed the case in the first place and why they haven't closed it yet."

ACP Sanjay said, "I called the officer after the complainant, Sachdeva, approached me. She said she has spent around R5 lakh on her mother's medical treatments due to this accident. I instructed the officer to call both the complainant and the child's parents to the police station and solve the matter. But, there was a misunderstanding and he registered the case. In such cases, we don't even arrest the child. This case, however, was registered because of a misunderstanding. We have already submitted a closure report. The case will be dissolved soon."