Vasai cop suspected of selling seized goods, suspended

A woman head constable from Vasai police station has been suspended on the suspicion of misappropriating seized goods Store incharge Head Constable Mangal Gaikwad was suspended on March 12 after her seniors found her answers regarding the cutting of a seized vehicle unsatisfactory An inquiry into the matter is underway under which an audit of all seized evidence right from 1985 is being conductedSenior officers at Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police said things like cash jewellery vehicles refrigerators washing machines air conditioners etc are part of the audit ldquoThe FIR will be registered after the audit of misappropriated articles is completedrdquo said a senior officer requesting anonymitySeized vehicles at Vasai police station PicsHanif PatelThe matter came to light on March 12 when senior police officers noticed a scrap dealer cutting a seized vehicle at Vasai police station ldquoThe zonal DCP Sanjay Patil had ordered the cleaning of the police station On March 12 when the senior inspector was inspecting seized vehicles a scrap dealer Mushtaq bhangarwala was cutting a vehicle parked at the police station for a long timerdquo said another police officerldquoWhen the senior inspector asked him who told him to cut the seized vehicles Mushtaq named Gaikwad She had gone to the Palghar treasury office that day on official workrdquo the officer added On being questioned Gaikwad denied having given Mushtaq the order ldquoGaikwad told us that she had only asked Mushtaq to check how these seized vehicles can be removed to keep the police premises cleanrdquo the officer addedHowever Gaikwadrsquos seniors were not satisfied with her answer and she was suspended Police also recovered 17 tonnes of scrap from Mushtaq said a source DCP Patil has ordered an inquiry which requires an audit of lost seized propertyGaikwad joined Vasai police in 2014 as an assistant to the storekeeper ldquoShe was made in charge of the store in 2016 It seems she has been misappropriating seized articles since thenrdquo the source addedAnother police source added ldquoAround 1012 grams of gold jewellery seized in an Economic Offences Wing case is missingrdquoPolice also found the sealed pack of seized jewellery tampered with ldquoWhen asked how the seal got tampered with she said she wanted to weigh the gold jewellery But she has no right to tinker with evidencerdquo an officer saidAnother officer added ldquoThere is no diary entry for a few surplus vehicles In some cases details of returned vehicles are not updatedrdquo In addition seized cash is kept in a separate bank account in the name of lsquoSenior Police Inspectorrsquo ldquoThe account is short of R7 lakh She is not giving us a satisfactory answer about itrdquo the officer added ldquoThe misappropriation of seized property will affect the prosecution of cases The matter will dent the policersquos imagerdquo a senior officer saidWhat the constable saysGaikwad told midday she is being falsely implicated ldquoI am a widow and a mother of two I am being falsely implicated by my colleagues who did not like my honest workrdquo Gaikwad saidShe added ldquoIn February the DCP told us to keep the police premises cleaned of seized vehicles I was only following my seniorrsquos ordersrdquo Gaikwad joined the force in 2006 ldquoI live in a rented house in VasaiI told senior officers I am innocent but a departmental enquiry has been initiated against me I have not told my relatives about itrdquo she added Gaikwadrsquos residence is yet to be raided Cops at the police station believe that she sold off seized valuables