Having received a death threat from '93 blast accused Mustafa Dossa, cop requested for a gun licence in January '10, but is yet to receive it
Having received a death threat from '93 blast accused Mustafa Dossa, cop requested for a gun licence in January '10, but is yet to receive it
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A police inspector who dedicated his life to protecting citizens from dreaded terrorists is now ironically struggling to acquire possession of a licensed revolver with which to protect his own life.
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In a letter addressed to the police's arms licensing department, retd police inspector Avinash Dethe has alleged that the department has been intentionally delaying the process of granting him an arms licence, even though he has informed them that his life is in danger. 
Avinash Dethe
He has also emphasised the injustice of denying an honourable man like him the legitimate means to protect himself, while granting the same to a mentally unstable, but powerful man like Pravin Mahajan.
Dethe revealed that on May 22, 2008 when he was an inspector posted in the local arms (LA) department, he was designated the task of escorting 1993 bomb blast accused Mustafa Dossa to Nair hospital.
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Many of Dossa's relatives and accomplices were trying to establish contact with him.
When Dethe and other police inspectors prevented them from meeting him, Dossa pushed Dethe, and threatened to hunt him down and kill him once he was set free.
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In response to the threat, Dethe registered an FIR against Dossa at the Agripada police station, under Sections 353, 504 and 506 of the IPC. The case is still pending in Mazgaon court.
Dethe claims that he is constantly haunted by the fear that Dossa, who is serving a life sentence in Taloja Jail, may assign someone to assassinate him. Feeling vulnerable to an attack, Dethe applied for a gun licence on January 16, 2010. To his great consternation, he received no response from the licensing authorities.
In a bid to speed up the process, Dethe wrote a supplement letter to the deputy commissioner of police. In the plea, he delineated the various factors that made him eligible for the licence.
He also questioned the justice behind granting an unstable man like Pravin Mahajan a license, while denying him one.
It may be remembered here that Pravin, brother of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, had used his licensed .32 Browning pistol to pump bullets into the latter on April 22, 2006.
Dethe said, "If a man like Pravin Mahajan could succeed in obtaining a license, then why not me? I served the department for 35 years, and even received a threat from a terrorist.
I suspect that a senior inspector who has a personal vendetta against me has been pressuring the concerned department to delay the matter." Dethe retired from service on December 31, 2010.
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