Mumbai fake drug case: This is not the first time

The CCTV footage showing the Khar cops planting drugs on an innocent man has reignited concerns about police misconduct This tactic of framing individuals by planting drugs has been a recurring issue despite strict search procedures framed to prevent such abuse Victims have reported similar incidents where officers either planted drugs themselves or collaborated with others to falsely incriminate people midday spoke with a few victims who claimed they were framed in a similar wayOshiwara police officers are also facing similar allegations The 28yearold victim who is in the garment business and resides in Jogeshwari told midday that on August 15 he had gone to City Mall with his girlfriend to watch a movie He had parked his Burgman scooter in the parking lot near the mall At around 1215 am after the movie ended he noticed four to five people doing something with his bike and approaching himAccording to him officers from the Oshiwara police detection team allegedly opened the panel of a mans Activa outside Infinity Mall planted drugs inside and waited for the man to return to his vehicle When he did they apprehended him took him to the police station and detained him overnight Seeing this he instructed his girlfriend to record a video and ran towards the bike As soon as he got close the individuals grabbed him and identified themselves as policemen from Oshiwara police station claiming they had found drugs in his bike According to the complainant despite his protests that his bike did not contain drugs and showing them his movie ticket as proof of his alibi they ignored him and took him to the police station at between 1220 and 1235 amThe officials from Oshiwara police searching the vicitmldquoI tried to make them understand but they did not listen They asked me to inform my family and told my brother to visit the police station After my brother arrived they initially demanded R10 lakh to settle the matter then reduced the amount to Rs 4 lakh finally settling for R310 lakh There were some officials present whose names I do not know but two were named Sandeep Barve and Siraj Mujawar Siraj Mujawar took Rs 3 lakh from a tea stall outside the police station and released me at 7 amrdquo he saidHe added ldquoThis incident not only affected me but also my family To save me from going to jail on false charges my family gave whatever savings we had to get me released It took me some time to come out of this shock I realised that like me this must have happened to many people and will continue to happen It is important to stop this Such police personnel who are tarnishing the reputation of the police force must be held accountable That is why I have filed a written complaint with the DCP and I have been called in today to discuss the issue If all the CCTV footage from the crime scene to the police station especially the detection room and the tea stall located next to the police station are checked everything will become clear automaticallyrdquoHe also alleged that officers demanded money to settle the case and released the man at 7 am after taking approximately R310 lakh The victim has filed a formal complaint with the Zone IX DCP naming the officers involved and demanding action against themThe officials have stated that the woman involved is accused in a previous NDPS case registered with the DN Nagar police station and was checked based on this information ldquoHer modus operandi is to accompany someone with a clean record and keep the drugs with them Accordingly we checked the bike of the person involvedrdquo an officer said2021 CASERecalling a similar incident a 33yearold Matunga executive who was falsely accused by his wifes stalker in 2021 told midday that he canrsquot forget the nightmare of the situation The stalker had planted 485 grams of drugs and a revolver at his Matunga residence The stalker who was an informer for the Shahu Nagar police tipped off the police that Faqrudin Sayyed was involved in the drug trade and planted drugs and a gun at the latterrsquos home Subsequently the Shahu Nagar police raided Sayyedrsquos residence and arrested himSayyed and his friend Gopal Mooponr were released after midday highlighted the incident and the CCTV footage showing the stalker informing the police and planting the drugs In this case the accused deceived the police and trapped Sayyed in an attempt to sabotage his engagement However the youthrsquos friends gathered all the evidenceSpeaking with midday Sayyed said ldquoI was trapped by the stalker who was pursuing my wife in 2021 when my marriage was fixed I spent almost four to five days in jail with my friend Mooponr those were the worst days of our lives and I can hardly recall them On the first day in jail the cops pressured us to confess to the crime but they realised their mistake after reading middayrsquos reportrdquoldquoMy friends stood by me collected crucial evidence including CCTV footage and proved that the drugs and gun were planted by the stalker The footage clearly showed the stalker planting the drugs and gun and then informing the police about my houserdquo Sayyed recalledldquoMy friends and midday gave me justice and the police removed all charges against us and released us respectfully I got my job back and have since been promoted I am very happy with this outcome I married my wife 15 years ago after the incident and we are living happily together in Matunga I am still grateful to all my friends including Vinayak Hubbaji Diana Fernando Parmesh Maitri Chetan Kamble Tukaram Chalke Yeshudas Arulraj and Sadiq Sayyed as well as the midday team fordelivering justicerdquo2013 CASEIn 2013 midday reported about a 20yearold Kalina resident Rajesh Gupta who was allegedly framed in a drug case by Bandra police officials in collusion with his landlord J C DrsquoSouza The police detained Gupta claiming they had found drugs on him while he was alone at home as his family was on vacationAfter the police took Gupta to the station goons associated with DrsquoSouza reportedly stormed Guptas house robbing it of valuables They also robbed a neighbouring resident Sufiyan Shah and abducted him later releasing him in Virar Gupta filed a complaint with the Vakola police who arrested the landlord revealing that he had orchestrated the entire conspiracy The Bandra police officers involved were suspended by the then DCP of Zone IX1215amTime on August 15 cops conducted searches