Mumbai: Clean-up marshal caught for extortion bid has a molestation case

The recent arrests of three cleanup marshals for attempting to extort Rs 50000 from a 21yearold college student in Andheri while posing as policemen sheds light on how miscreants could be appointed as cleanup marshals on a contractual basis due to shortcomings in the police clearance process According to officials one of the arrested people had been booked for molestation but this was not mentioned in his clearance certificateBrihanumbai Municipal Corporation BMC officials and the agency concerned Emkay Facilities Services Pvt Ltd stated that the trio had been employed as they had submitted police clearance certificates PCCs When midday contacted the police it was learnt that the certificate was issued to the person against whom the molestation case was registered as he had not been convictedBMC began redeploying cleanup marshals in April to enforce hygiene in public places Representation picLast Thursday the MIDC police arrested three personsmdashDilshad Khan Simranjit Singh and Rafique Chaudharimdashafter the student alleged they had tailed her auto and demanded money accusing her of violating the law by smoking an ecigarette in the vehicle All three were released on bail the next dayPrataprao Kadam a senior police inspector of MIDC police station said ldquoAll three worked as cleanup marshals on a contractual basis through an agency with the BMC Khan had been booked in a molestation case in 2022 at Santacruz police station and cops are probing if the accused had committed similar offencesrdquoDilshad Khan cleanup marshal who had been booked for molestation Rafique Chaudhari an accused Simranjit Singh an accusedHe added that the person is considered innocent until proven guilty and cases may not be mentioned in PCCs if they are if they are under investigation or the individual is an undertrial The BMC began deploying cleanup marshals in April 2024 to enforce hygiene and sanitation in public places aiming to maintain a force of 30 marshals in each of Mumbairsquos 24 wardsAs complaints there had been complaints about extortion when cleanup marshals first patrolled the streets the BMC chalked out new rules and regulations for the squadTo be appointed as a cleanup marshal one should have passed Std X and the agency must obtain a verification certificate from the police to check if the candidate has a criminal recordKiran Dighavkar deputy municipal commissioner and incharge of the solid waste management department under whose watch cleanup marshals are appointed said that the BMC immediately asked the agency concerned for clarification after Thursdayrsquos incident came to lightAgencyrsquos versionEmkay Facilities Services Pvt Ltd informed the MIDC police that the trio had submitted the required documents and that they had permission to collect fines only related to cleaning and after the news appeared they were immediately suspended Santosh Gawade CEO of Emkay Facilities Services said ldquoAs per the BMCrsquos process a cleanup marshal must have a Std X pass certificate and PCC We appoint only those who submit these documents along with their Aadhaar and PAN cards There wasnrsquot any case mentioned against the trio according to their PCCsrdquoA police officer said that only proven charges are mentioned in a PCC During passport verification cases against candidates being investigated by the police or under trial are mentioned and when affidavits are filed by electoral aspirants police hand over a record of all major cases registered against them to the Election Commission as per the required format midday tried to contact Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar Satyanarayan Chaudhary joint commissioner of police law and order and Akbar Pathan deputy commissioner of police but they did not respond to calls and messagesSachin Gunjal DCP of Zone X under which the extortion case was filed said he would look into the matter and if cases had been registered against Khan and if so why this wasnrsquot reflected in his PCCActivistSpeakldquoIn police clearance certificates even cases under investigation are mentioned as it sometimes takes eight to 10 years to close a case The police also ask for a reference letter from housing societies Why the case was not mentioned in the PCC of the cleanup marshal should be investigatedrdquo said Vishwas Kamble a Kurlabased activistThe BMC had first appointed cleanup marshals in 2006 and then in July 2016 In both instances they faced extortion complaints The marshals were given the power to penalise people for spitting littering dumping wastedebris open defecation not picking up petsrsquo poop etc and the fine ranged from Rs 100 to Rs 1000 During the pandemic the BMC has been given the right to act against those who did not use masks in public places till the end of 20222022Year the accused was booked for molestationOct 17Day trio was arrestedWhat happened last weekThree cleanup marshals posing as cops were caught after they tried to extort R50000 from a college student who was vaping in an autorickshaw while on her way back from collegeCleanup marshals in the dockThis newspaper carried multiple reports on extortion cases involving cleanup marshals in 2022 In May 2021 the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested a cleanup marshal for allegedly posing as a policeman and extorting R5000 from a man who was allegedly caught spitting in public in Mahim In September 2019 cleanup marshals posing as cops extorted R3500 from three male college students for taking pictures at Marine Drive after threatening to charge them for entering the sea