Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Navi Mumbai police need to do something drastic about their image' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai police need to do something drastic about their image

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: In a sting operation that was conducted it was found that the Navi Mumbai police had allowed the Sohrabuddin fake encounter accused Rajkumar Pandian to visit his house in Ahmedabad, when he should have been in police lock-up.

In the video film taken during the sting operation, suspended Gujarat Police SP Pandian is seen as getting into a white car at Ahmedabad’s main railway station on Sunday, followed by his arrival at a railway guest house, where he allegedly says goodbye to the Navi Mumbai police team accompanying him.

Pandian is then shown entering his house on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The sting operation shows Pandian emerging out of the railway guest house and boarding a police vehicle on Monday, to attend the court hearing.

The Navi Mumbai police team, comprising assistant inspector Suresh Kamble, and four constables, were assigned the task of escorting Pandian to Ahmedabad from the Taloja jail, where he has been lodged for the past several months.

This is another embarrassing moment for Navi Mumbai police. Previously the residents of Navi Mumbai were shocked when it was announced that city’s assistant police inspector Anil Beharani was one of the suspects in Sandhya Singh murder case.

In December last year, seven Navi Mumbai police officers were arrested after the two undertrials managed to escape after mixing sedatives with biryani and drinks consumed by them. The suspects escaped as the seven cops lay unconscious.

In the same month, gangster Ganesh Shinde alias Ganya, who was in Taloja jail gave the police a slip when he was brought from Taloja jail to hospital for treatment.

A similar case occurred in March this year when Hanumant Patil alias Prem, an estate agent who was arrested for the sensational murder of CIDCO officer Atul Mhatre, managed to escaped from the hospital’s toilet.

It has become clear that Navi Mumbai police force need to do something very drastic to refurbish their tarnished image. They will have to take stern steps to regain the great image that they had in the past.