Pune: Two Police Constables Suspended for Extorting Bed Sheets and Cash from Street Vendors in Viman Nagar
Pune: In a case of misconduct, Deputy Commissioner of Police Himmat Jadhav has suspended two police constables for extorting money and bed sheets from a street vendor in Viman Nagar. The suspended officers, Sunil Bhagwan Kusalkar and Sanjay Mahadev Aswale, were both posted at the Viman Nagar Police Station.
The incident occurred on September 17 at Datta Mandir Chowk, Viman Nagar, when street vendor Althmesh and his friends were selling bed sheets on roads. At that time, Kusalkar and Aswale approached the vendors, demanding an installment of Rs 14,000 for allowing them to continue selling on the street. After that, they seized 60 bed sheets from the vendors and left in a Scorpio vehicle.
Later, when the vendors requested their bed sheets back, after paying Rs 14 thousand, police constables returned only 37 bedsheets, and 23 bedsheets were still held by the officers. In this regard, Amol Nikalje, founder president of Vanchit Bahujan Samaj Sangh, filed a police complaint on September 18 with Senior Police Inspector Ajay Sankeshwari of Vimantal Police Station. After that, the police inspector, Sarjerao Kumbhar, reviewed CCTV footage from the scene and recorded statements from those involved.
However, despite that, no action was taken against concerned police officers, prompting Nikalje to issue a warning of an impending agitation if justice was not served.
Finally, on September 30, after Nikalje’s warning, the police administration acted. Deputy Commissioner of Police Himmat Jadhav suspended the two constables for violating police discipline and behaving irresponsibly.
