Local party workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have accused officials of Kasturba Marg police station of harassing them by registering false cases against them.
Members of BJP’s Borivli unit threatened to stage a dharna outside the police station on Aug 1 but dropped the plans after an assurance from deputy commissioner of police Ankush Shinde (zone XI) that he would look into the matter.
Advocate Jayprakash Mishra, president of the Borivli unit of BJP, says, “Charges were levelled against several of our workers and BJP sympathisers and we had sought clarifications from the police station.
However, we were not satisfied with their reply and decided to protest by staging a dharna.”
Senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Ram Naik along with party workers had planned a dharna to protest this treatment. However, Naik says, “The dharna was withdrawn as DCP Ankush Shinde sought 15 days to look into the matter.”
Senior inspector WK Kharat refused to comment on the issue. “It is better if you talk to the DCP,” says Kharat. When contacted, officials at the DCP’s office said that he had gone on leave.
Alleged cases of harassment
* Advocate Jayaprakash Mishra says, “There was a case of a minor scuffle against Sanjay Bhogilal Shah but the police charged him under Section 326 (a non-bailable charge for causing injury by a dangerous weapon) of the India Penal Code (IPC). Shah and his two brothers were kept in police custody for several days.”
He adds, “Also, a case of cheating was registered under Section 110 — slapped only against criminals — against Shah although he was involved in no such case.”
* Another party worker Netaji Shinde was arrested for dacoity. Mishra says, “Neither the complainant nor the witness had named Shinde as a suspect. But he was arrested following a statement by a social worker.
“The officers are biased against
us. They told us that Shinde was an accused in the 1992 riots despite the
fact that the court did not find any evidence," adding that the police
threatened to arrest more party
workers under the Maharashtra Prevention
of Dangerous Activities Act.
* Providing another instance, Mishra says, “Prakash Gadiyar, Kiran Mahadik, Ramesh Bhandari and Ajay Agarwal are partners in Messers Siddhivinayak Construction. They are involved in SRA in the area.”
“The police registered a case under Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code though the case was related to a minor property dispute. The police have been targeting them as they are under political pressure,” alleges Mishra.
manthan@mid-day.com