Maharashtra: Senior inspector in hot water over harassment allegations

A departmental inquiry revealed that senior inspector Prashant Langi of the Uttan Sagri police station had allegedly registered a noncognizable NC offence which is not as per law in a cctns Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems format against an activist and also kept CCTV cameras in his cabin nonoperational for 13 daysHowever after no action was taken the victim Krishna Gupta complained to the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission and State Police Complaints Authority An indepth inquiry is now being made against Langi as well as MiraBhayandar VasaiVirar police commissioner Sadanand Date for allegedly not acting after DCP Amit Kales report who carried out the initial inquiry sent him three default reports against the senior inspector in the past yearGupta told midday On June 25 last year three friends and I had gone to Uttan late at night We were stopped by a police van and taken to the police station I immediately started recording everything on my phone and also called the control room informing them about our situation On reaching the police station the senior inspector took us into his cabin He didnt allow us to sit down and seized our phonesKrishna GuptaAlleging that Langi made racist comments the activist said He also threatened to register an FIR against us under section 353 of the IPC assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty Two constables Ravindra Bagul and Kishor Patil then apprised Langi that I had called the control roomLangi also called the control room telling them that the police were registering a case against us under section 353 Till 430 am Langi abused us Later that morning he told us to pay Rs8000 in total for violating lockdown rules and released us On June 26 2021 I wrote to the CP about Langis behaviour and he subsequently ordered DCP Kale to conduct an inquiry and the latter directed the Navghar ACP division to carry it out Gupta saidAccording to Gupta in the wake of his complaint Langi registered an NC against the quartet in a book which the activist stated is illegal and sent them notices twice to present themselves in the police station for an inquiry To investigate an NC the police need an order from the magistrate but Langi had not received any such order he saidGupta alleged that Langi intended to register FIRs I immediately complained to the DCP and also sent him a recording of our encounter in Uttan he said In the inquiry conducted by DCP Kale it was learnt that CCTV cameras in Langis cabin had been nonoperational for 13 days Also the number of the NC registered by Langi was found to be the same as anotherWhen DCP Kale recorded Bagul and Patils statements both claimed Gupta had boasted that he had a lot of contacts in the police but in the video that was recorded by Gupta the activist was not seen making any such threats Observing that the constables gave fake statements they were punished of Rs1000 each on 10 and 31 July 2022 Kale also determined that all showcause notices sent by Langi were illegal till 2021DCP Kale also prepared three default reports holding Langi responsible for harassing Gupta registering an NC in the handwritten format mdash which is frowned upon sending illegal notices to Gupta and his friends and the nonfunctioning CCTV cameras in his cabin On July 30 2021 DCP has ordered to stopped the investigation because as per no court order as per crpc 1552 The DCP also sent these reports to Date asking that action be taken against Langi However nothing happenedGupta said I had sent 15 reminders to the DG office to take action against miscount the duty of Langi on the basis of the reports but nothing was done so I took the help of the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission in September 2021 and State Police Complaints Authority on April 5 2022 I also filed a complaint against Date for not taking action against Langi after it was proved that he misused his power and violated many laws As per MBMC order if anyone caught roaming outside without any valid reasons in lockdown then police have to fine then 2000 rupees per person and also they should conduct the COVID test and after negative reports only they should be released However Senior inspector Langi fined us 2000 rupees per head but failed to conduct Covid test which is mandatory as per lawOn August 23 2022 Date was present at a hearing called for by the State Police Complaints Authority and he stated that the case should be heard either by it or by the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission and that Gupta had been instructed to withdraw his complaint from one bodyGupta said Langi wanted to register a fake case against us showing that we all were drunk and creating a nuisance but in police station CCTV camera footage it was found that we were clearly not drunk and this is why he registered a fake NC and sent showcauses Our medical examination was not done because we all were sober To cover up their illegal action on January 31 2022 police again registered the same matter of NC in the cctns portal which is in proper legal formatGuptas 3 friend who were caught for breaking lockdown were also harrassed by the constables whom Langi had sent summon to their residents Constables were also gave fake information to their parents that their children were caught in drunk and they were taken to the police They also told to send their children to the police stationLangi termed the report submitted by Kale baseless and onesided The official told midday that it had been submitted without verification We had mistakenly entered the wrong NC number We also took the help of our nodal officer and submitted the rectified report The NC was transferred to the ACP division and the ACP submitted the charge sheet to the court he saidAlleging that DCP Kale was out to get Date and him Langi said He has guided Gupta who is his close friend into complaining to the State Human Rights Commission and Police Complaints Authority We will file all the evidence that we have We have also checked the CCTV and it was found that the fuse was not proper We also submitted that report to the CP It was a technical fault The activist and his friends violated lockdown norms and he was found 12 to 13 kilometres from his residence and we only acted on this We are clean and have never been involved in illegal activitiesLangi also alleged that the DCP had tried to force him to carry out many illegal activities which he refused to do This is harassment by DCP Kale he said DCP Kale said The NC was rectified one and a half months after the incident I stopped him Langi because he was operating illegally CCTV cameras which have to be active as per the Supreme Court and DG office guidelines were nonfunctional He has broken the law and due to this I submitted three default reports which are factualDismissing Langis allegations of wrongdoing he added He has been found guilty in my report which is why he is making baseless claims about me If he has proof he should complain against me I have already submitted the report to the CP and they will take action accordingly Date meanwhile told midday that he has submitted a detailed response to State Police Complaints Authority We are in process of submitting a detailed response to State Human Rights Commission he addedThe CP stated that Gupta had made two requests to him in September 2021 The first request was to transfer the investigation to any police station other than Uttan and the second was to take action against Langi I had assured him of fair action and had immediately transferred the investigation as requested by him to the Navghar police station in order to ensure that the probe was fair and impartial he saidHe added When we analysed the default report we had found certain deficiencies and the same were pointed out to the DCP We also told him to expedite the investigation of case under investigation against Gupta and submit a detailed report against all delinquents after completing the investigation Accordingly he submitted the detailed report to us which we received on August 1 and we initiated departmental action against Langi on August 5Asked about the constables who were fined for making false statements he replied This action has been initiated and concluded by DCP Zone 1 The head constable concerned had been aggrieved by the actions and met me in personal interview I have informed him that if hes aggrieved he can appeal against the order of the DCP before the competent authority which in this case is the DGP