23 February,2018 10:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Suraj Ojha
RTI activist Shakil Sheikh had called the police control room to report a DJ, who was playing loud music
The next time you make a phone call to the police control room to complain about music blaring from a neighbouring flat, don't be surprised if your neighbour comes to your doorstep, demanding an explanation for why you snitched on them. At least, that's what happened to two city-based activists.
Barely a year after mid-day reported how two head constables from the wireless department, Hemant Rasakar and Prakash Shinde, were suspended for revealing an activist's identity to the owner of a restaurant serving alcohol and hookah, it appears that the police are at it again.
Soon after that, an unidentified woman called him and demanded to know why he had complained. She even asked for his address. Illustration/ Ravi Jadhav
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In two separate incidents this month, activists were threatened and harassed by the people they had complained about to the police control room. The first incident took place in the Trombay police jurisdiction. On February 21, Shakil Sheikh, an RTI activist who lives in Trombay, had called the control room around 6.30 pm, to inform them about a DJ playing loud music in Mahatma Pule Nagar. "I thought that the cops would intervene and ask them to turn it down," Sheikh said.
However, soon after the complaint, he received a call from an unknown number. "A woman asked me why I had called the police. She insisted that I give her my address. We call the police so that they can help us. Instead, by giving out our details, they are putting our lives at risk," Shaikh added.
Meanwhile, Prashant Vishwakarma, a social activist from Oshiwara, alleged that the police leaked his identity to a restaurant owner, whom he had complained about. "Yesterday, I learned that a restaurant was serving hookah to customers illegally. I must have called the control room more than 10 times, but they did not take any action. Later, I got a call from an unidentified number. The person said that he was speaking on behalf of the restaurant, and asked me to meet him to resolve the issue," said Vishwakarma.
Prashant Vishwakarma
Deepak Devraj, deputy control room, PRO, Mumbai Police, said, "Cops never reveal the contact number or identity of the complainant. But, if that has happened, we will investigate."
