Mumbai: Enquiry expedited, senior inspector yet to turn up

The departmental enquiry DE against Santacruz Senior Inspector Rajendra Kane and Crime PI Amar Patil has been expedited by Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP Mahesh Mugutrao Over the past week several individuals including police officials have recorded their statements as part of the ongoing DE However Kane has yet to appear before ACP Mugutrao to give his statementldquoLast week Crime PI Patil appeared before ACP Mugutrao and recorded his statement regarding the allegations against him In contrast Senior Inspector Kane has not complied with the directive to cooperate with the ACP in the ongoing departmental inquiryrdquo a senior official at the Additional Commissioner of Police West Region told middayAmong those who have already recorded their statements are complainant Mahesh Gami Santacruz SubInspector Sharad Landge two constables who travelled to Gujarat to arrest the accused one police officer from Santacruz and Crime PI Amar PatilComplainant Mahesh Gami at Kalanagar Bandra East on July 7 PicSatej Shinde right Senior Inspector Rajendra KaneA key aspect of the inquiry is the April 22 meeting involving politicians and Rajendra Kane during which the complainant Mahesh Gami was reportedly pressured to withdraw the FIR against the accused in an extortion case This meeting is critical as the Call Data Records CDRs of the prime accused indicate his presence near the Santacruz police station with Kane allegedly aware of his whereabouts while the investigating officer PSI Sharad Landge was not informed ldquoInstead of notifying the IO to arrest the prime accused Balwant Sinh Jadeja Kane continued pressuring me to withdraw the FIR This is why he has been avoiding giving his statementrdquo said Mahesh GamiKane when contacted claimed ldquoI recorded my statement before ACP on Saturday The allegations against me are false The complainant is misleading yourdquoHowever police sources indicated that Kane is not adhering to orders from senior officials ldquoHe is unnecessarily delaying the departmental inquiry because his name has been recommended for a Presidents award If he is found guilty it will create a significant issuerdquo said a sourceThe DE was initiated by Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roushan following allegations by Landge Landge investigating an extortion case involving a politicallybacked Gujaratbased sand mafia claimed that Kane and Patil were interfering and trying to weaken the caseMahesh Gami a 24yearold cloth merchant had filed an extortion case on April 18 against four individualsmdashBalwant Sinh Jadeja Ashok Sinh Jadeja Shivubha Gadhvi and Imran Raumamdashunder Sections 386 5062 504 115 and 120b of the Indian Penal Code at the Santacruz police stationGami alleged that he initially submitted his complaint on March 16 but faced hindrance from Kane who allegedly told him that his complaint letter would be returned and that he could go wherever he wanted ldquoThis was shocking as my life was under threat and a senior inspector was siding with the accusedrdquo Gami saidGami described how despite the FIR being registered under the direction of DCP he was pressured to withdraw the case during a meeting on April 22 ldquoAfter the FIR was registered two politicians walked to Kanersquos cabin where I was also called to join themrdquo Gami recalledldquoThe moment I entered the cabin of senior inspector at Santacruz police station Kane said lsquotere ko charbi jyada hai abhi bhihelliprsquordquo Gami addedMidday has learned that both these politicians supported the four accused who were booked in an extortion caseACP Mugutrao has recorded Mahesh Gamirsquos statement for the ongoing departmental inquiry Gami described how Senior Inspector Kane initially obstructed his FIR registration and later pressured him to withdraw the case against the accused who had threatened him and his familyGami stated ldquoAfter the meeting on April 22 I saw Balwant in a car parked near Santacruz This indicates that Kane was aware of Balwantrsquos presence in the area because both the politicians and Balwant were at the police station that nightrdquoHe argued that Kane should be suspended immediately asserting ldquoHad Balwant been arrested on April 22 I wouldnrsquot have been assaulted on May 16 I had to seek treatment from multiple hospitals due to Kanersquos inactionrdquoGami demanded a prompt and fair investigation saying ldquoI want strict action against both Kane and Patilrdquo He added that after the case was transferred to Amar Patil he received no updates and that the Bandra police have failed to seize the weapons Gami expressed fear for his safety noting ldquoI am scared to return to my village as the goons are still roaming free and I have yet to recover the R3 lakh extorted from merdquoApr 22Day meeting involving politicians and Rajendra Kane occurred