Exclusive | Mumbai fake drug case: 'God had other plans'

Dylan Estibeiro a 30yearold Kalina resident narrowly escaped a drug case frameup orchestrated by the Khar police last Friday The incident captured on CCTV went viral leading to the suspension of a police subinspector and three constables Estibeiro who feared for his life and freedom recounted the harrowing experience revealing how plainclothes officers allegedly attempted to plant drugs on him His testimony and the damning footage have now led to an investigation into police misconduct with authorities now scrutinising the actions and motives of the officers involvedSpeaking to midday Estibeiro said ldquoI still canrsquot explain how I felt at that moment My entire family was terrified I thought I was going to jail in a drug case and that I would never leave prison that my entire life would be ruined But God had other plans The officers who tried to frame me are now suspended and I have faith in the legal system I especially want to thank DCP Raj Tilak Roshan who spoke to me and contacted my parents reassuring us that justice would be served Because of that I now have the courage to speak out These police officials could frame anyone in a similar manner and if there hadnrsquot been CCTV footage I would likely be behind bars todayrdquoExplaining the sequence of events Estibeiro said ldquoShahbaz Khan is my childhood friend and Ive been visiting his farm for the past 20 to 22 years On Friday evening I was there when suddenly four men in plain clothes stormed the premises asking for Khan Since he wasnrsquot there one of them started searching me Suddenly he pulled out a white packet and claimed it was drugs I told him lsquoThis isnrsquot mine itrsquos yoursrsquo But he insisted it was 20 grams of mephedrone and threatened to add 20 more to make it a commercial quantity They took me to the Khar area but instead of taking me to the police station they held me at a beat chowkie I was tortured as they tried to frame Khan I kept pleading that I hadnrsquot done anything wrong but they wouldnrsquot listen It wasnrsquot until the CCTV footage surfaced on WhatsApp that they panicked and released me I was so scared that I walked several kilometres before I finally took an autorickshaw to get homerdquoDylan EstibeiroldquoThis open plot is worth Rs 400 crore and Irsquove had possession of it for the past 40 years Irsquom currently in talks with a builder but in the meantime Irsquove been threatened by a local politician who said they would frame me in a drug case And thatrsquos exactly what happenedrdquo Khan said ldquoOn Friday I was at home because I wasnrsquot feeling well My childhood friend was there and they planted drugs on him They didnrsquot know about the CCTV cameras inside the premises When I checked the footage I was shocked to see how they planted the lsquodrugsrsquo on my friend I immediately made sure the footage reached the corrupt cops and they released him I was asked not to share the video but I thought if theyrsquore doing this to us today they could frame another innocent person tomorrowThe CCTV camera at the siteAfter the video went viral Roushan took cognisance of the matter and summoned all the officials involved One PSI identified as Vishwanath Amble along with three constables was initially found to have violated proper procedure during the drugrelated searchThe place where Dylan was sitting before the cops searched him inset Shahbaz KhanldquoAfter examining the CCTV footage we observed several lapses and their behaviour during the search appeared suspiciousrdquo Roushan said in a video statement on Saturday ldquoAll of them have been suspended pending further investigationrdquoAccording to sources officials are investigating why the group of officers seen in the CCTV footage entered the jurisdiction of the Vakola police station without informing the local police They are also questioning why the searches were conducted in plain clothes and without properly maintaining the search diary ldquoWe are verifying whether any senior officers were involvedrdquo said a source20 gmQuantity of mephedrone planted on Dylan