Kunal Purohit; Hindustan Times; Mumbai, November 17, 2010
The 15-year-old girl’s rape allegation against senior police inspector of LT Marg police station, Arun Borude, isn’t his first brush with controversy.
Earlier this year, Borude had allegedly threatened a Right To Information (RTI) activist, who had filed a query to find out the status of his complaint, with legal action if he filed another query.
In February, Opera House resident Jeetendra Ghadge, 28, tried to lodge a non-cognisable (NC) complaint against a relative at the LT Marg police station.
“The policeman on duty refused to register the NC the way the events had occurred. Instead he wrote something which was completely different from what I had told him.”
As Ghadge’s efforts to convince him to file another NC failed, he refused to sign the NC that had been written.
The activist then filed a complaint with the zonal deputy commissioner of police (DCP).
“Ideally, the authorities should have called me to the police station and record my statement. Since no such action was taken, a week later I filed an RTI query regarding the status of my complaint with the DCP”, said Ghadge.
The reply that Ghadge got had shocked him.
“As part of the reply, I also got a letter from Borude to the assistant commissioner of police, which not only gave the policeman a clean chit but also threatened me with dire legal action.”
In the letter, Borude said: “If the complainant [Ghadge]… signs the NC, then we will advise him to move court. However, if he again… files an (RTI) application to know the status of his complaint, and tries to harass police officers, and interferes with police work, legal action will be initiated against him.”
The Hindustan Times has a copy of the letter.
Ghadge claimed: “This was a clear threat against me to not use the RTI and ask for information.”
“But now that his [Borude’s] true colours have come to the fore, I will write to the higher officials and ask them to re-open my case and give me justice.”
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