The sessions court, while rejecting the anticipatory bail application of absconding IPS officer Saurabh Tripathi on Wednesday, used the Marathi proverb ‘Kumpanach jevnha shet khaate’ (when the fence itself eats the crops), to describe his behaviour. The court also said that this isn’t a fit case to grant anticipatory bail and noted that Tripathi submitted a forged document along with his application before the court.

The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Crime Branch, while arguing its case  against Tripathi, has said that he is the mastermind behind the entire Angadia extortion racket case. The CIU also argued about the forged document submitted by Tripathi, one of the grounds on which the court rejected his anticipatory bail application. Tripathi claimed that through a circular of Mumbai police dated November 15, 2021, he had issued an order to take action against hawala operators. “This document filed by the applicant is forged. No such document was sent on November 15, 2021,” the CIU told the court.