Mumbai: IPS officer Saurabh Tripathi accused of extortion appointed SID deputy commissioner

Two months after revoking his suspension, the state government on Monday posted Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Saurabh Tripathi as deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in the State Intelligence Department.Tripathi, 40, a 2010-batch IPS officer, was suspended after he was named as an accused in the Angadia extortion case registered at LT Marg police station.

On December 7, 2021, Yogeshbhai Gandhi, Jatin Shah, Madhusudan Rawal, Maganbhai Prajapati and others of Bhuleshwar Angadia Association met additional commissioner of police Dilip Sawant and filed a written complaint against Tripathi. They alleged that three police officers attached to LT Marg police station had extorted ₹19 lakh from Angadia employees in south Mumbai earlier that month on Tripathi’s instructions.The IPS officer was implicated as the mastermind of the case following the arrest and subsequent reinstatement of Inspector Om Vangate, Assistant Inspector Nitin Kadam and Sub-Inspector Samadhan Jamdade by the CIU in February 2022.

Tripathi had evaded the authorities and had a lookout circular (LoC) issued against him shortly after the arrests of the trio. He later appeared before the CIU in November 2022 after obtaining anticipatory bail, where he provided a statement.In November 2021, the Angadia association had reported to the commissioner of police that officers, including Tripathi, were demanding R10 lakh to facilitate their business operations. A 1,100-page charge sheet was filed by the police against the three officers as well as Assistant Commissioner of Central Goods and Service Tax Ashutosh Mishra, who is Tripathi's brother-in-law.Tripathi was also named in the FIR registered on February 18, 2022, prompting the LoC to be issued against him.