Constable filed private case alleging that they are demanding money to hush up a case.
Acting on directives issued by judicial magistrate (first class) Manoot Tokale of Saswad court, the Pune rural police has filed a case of extortion against additional superintendent of police (Pune Rural) Meghsham Malegaonkar, deputy superintendents of police Sharmista Walawalkar and Ashok Nakate, sub-inspector SD Vasnik and assistant police inspector SG Topane. Although, the case was filed on Friday, no arrests have been made so far.
The magistrate had ordered the police to investigate into the charges levelled against police officials and submit a report to the court in a week’s time. The directives were issued after a constable from Saswad police station, who has already been arrested in a rape case and granted bail, filed a private case in the court alleging the police officials had been demanding Rs5 lakh from him to hush up the matter.
Constable Bhima Yashwant Londhe (26) was arrested along with assistant police inspector Nanasaheb Bhujbal on February 14 for alleged involvement in raping an under-aged girl, issuing threats to silence her and forcing her to terminate the pregnancy when she conceived.
When Londhe was produced in the court for remand hearing a day after his arrest, he complained to his lawyers Avinash Bharambe and Naazneen Attar that the police officials were pressurising him to pay up and then filed his private case against them in the court.
Londhe, in his plaint, named additional superintendent of police (Pune Rural) Meghsham Malegaonkar, deputy superintendents of police Sharmista Walawalkar and Ashok Nakate, sub-inspector SD Vasnik and assistant police inspector SG Topane and prayed that they be slapped with charges of extortion, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, punishment of criminal intimidation, common intention to commit crime and casteist atrocity.
Londhe’s plaint alleged, “Malegaonkar visited Saswad police station on February 13 night and abused me. He also passed casteist remarks and threatened to destroy my career saying a rape complaint had been received against me. He demanded Rs5 lakh to tamper with the evidence and to hush up the matter.’’
The plaint went on to allege, “The next day, the police officials accosted Londhe at the police station and whisked him away to Uruli Devachi police chowki where he was abused again and the case was filed against him.’’
When contacted by DNA, Malegaonkar said, “I have been falsely implicated. Londhe was recruited five years ago and has been suspended because of his nefarious activities. An inquiry has been ordered and I am sure we will come out of it clean.’’
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