A thirty-year-old fashion designer from Kalyan has alleged that officials of the Vikhroli police station demanded a bribe of Rs18,000 from him to settle a case of rash driving that he wanted to register against a state transport bus driver.
Rishi Dange, the complainant, said police also booked him for “attempting to deter a government servant from performing his duty”.
Dange lawyer Rushikesh Bhosle said, “When produced at the Vikhroli court, the magistrate too pointed out that the police had functioned in a very lethargic manner, as they did not book the driver. He advised my client to approach the police commissioner. The magistrate let my client out on bail.”
When contacted, officials at the Vikhroli police station said that they had taken appropriate action and that they were not at fault. Thange approached zonal deputy commissioner of police Sanjay Shintre who said, “We are conducting an inquiry into the matter.”
Thange said he was driving down the eastern express highway along with his relatives around 2.30am on Thursday when an ST bus dashed against the rear of his car. He alleged that the driver started abusing him under the influence of alcohol.
When the two reached the Vikhroli police station, a member of the ST bus drivers’ union arrived. The police did not listen to Thange’s side of the story and registered a case against him based on the driver’s statement.
“A police officer told me that I would have to pay Rs18,000 to settle the case,” said Thange. “I refused to pay the bribe. When I told the police that I wanted to register a case against the driver, they registered it as a non cognisable offence and the driver was allowed to leave.” He alleged that the passengers of the ST bus were told that, if they wanted to be left early, they would have to give statements that the accident was Thange’s fault.
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