Two police constables posted at the Vimantal police station were suspended for allegedly asking a bedsheet vendor to pay Rs 14000 as protection money (hafta). Deputy Commissioner of Police Himmat Jadhav has taken suspension action on Police Constable Sunil Bhagwan Kusalkar and Sanjay Mahadev Aswale.
The incident came to light after the Amol (Sunny) Nikhalje of the Vanchit Bahujan Samajik Sangh submitted a written complaint to the senior police inspector Ajay Sankeshwari on September 18. According to the complaint filed by Nikhalje a bed vendor named Mohammed Altamash was selling bed sheets on the road near Datta Mandir Chowk in Vaman Nagar in Pune on September 17, when at around 2:00 pm Police Constable Sunil Bhagwan Kusalkar and Sanjay Mahadev Aswale approached him on a bike bearing Pune police sticker and asked him to pay protection money to continue his business. The constable threatened Altamash and told him that they would file a case against him if he refused to pay them the money. Later the constable took Altamash behind an electric DP and allegedly assaulted him and hit him in his face and neck.
Later the suspended constables allegedly called for a private car and dumped the bedsheets in the black car. The complaint application states that Altamash had submitted 60 bedsheets to the police. Later the police asked Altamash to pay them money to avoid police action. Accordingly, Altamash paid Rs 14000 to the police constables.
After receiving the money, the accused police constables returned only 37 bedsheets to Altamash. When Altamash asked for the missing 23 bedsheets, the accused police constables threatened him and asked him to keep his mouth shut.
Later, an enquiry was initiated into the matter, and Police Inspector Sarjerao Kumbhar examined the CCTV footage of the area and recorded Mohammed Altamash's statement. However, the Vimantal police took no action in this regard. The activist of Vanchit Bahujan Samajik Sangh brought up the issue and wrote a letter to the Pune Police Commissioner stating a public agitation if action was not taken.
Accordingly, the Pune Police immediately swung into action and suspended Police Constable Sunil Bhagwan Kusalkar and Sanjay Mahadev Aswale and initiated an inter-departmental enquiry into the matter.