Payal Banerjee; Friday, February 25, 2011,
The two constables had extorted money from metal trader Abdul Kazi for almost a decade. The high court had ordered a probe against the tainted cops
Giving a ray of hope to the harassed 39-year-old metal trader Abdul Rehman Kazi, the Pune police on Wednesday finally registered an FIR against two police constables Dilip Mohite and Farooq Shaikh on charges of extortion, kidnapping and criminal intimidation.
The Bombay High Court, in November last year, had sought a reply from the Pune police commissioner for not taking action against the two constables and ordered a probe against them for extorting money from Kazi, a resident of Kondhwa.
On February 17, the court in its listing had made a reference to the statement of Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), who had said that the matter has been investigated and that the police would register an offence against the tainted cops. The Khadak police have now lodged a complaint against the cops under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
A Right to Information (RTI) application moved by Kazi before the commissioner of police revealed that Mohite and Shaikh were found guilty in a departmental inquiry and suspension notices were served on them.
However, the department did not lodge an FIR against Shaikh, attached to the special branch and Mohite, who was still working with the headquarters. Kazi then moved the high court in September 2009 seeking action against the two constables.
Recounting his trauma, Kazi said “Mohite and Shaikh harassed me for money for nearly a decade. Initially, they extorted money from me but later they asked me to collect money from the shop-owners in Ghorpadi Peth Bazaar. They also made other demands failing which they threatened me with dire consequences.
I recorded some of the conversations I had with Shaikh in June 2007 and submitted the tape to the police commissioner’s office.”
“I am happy that my decade-long battle has yielded results. My case proves that the law enforcement agencies are accountable to people,” he said. Advocates Debajyoti Talukdar and Nagma Tandon are representing Kazi.
The next hearing has been fixed on February 28. Senior inspector GV Nikam said, “We have lodged an FIR against Shaikh and Mohite.”
► I am happy that my decade-long battle has proved that the law enforcement agencies are accountable to people - Abdul Rehman Kazi, harassed trader
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