01 September,2024 06:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania
Friends of Matunga resident Faqrudin Sayyed and Gopal Mooponr
The CCTV footage showing the Khar cops planting drugs on an innocent man has reignited concerns about police misconduct. This tactic of framing individuals by planting drugs has been a recurring issue, despite strict search procedures framed to prevent such abuse. Victims have reported similar incidents, where officers either planted drugs themselves or collaborated with others to falsely incriminate people. mid-day spoke with a few victims who claimed they were framed in a similar way.
Oshiwara police officers are also facing similar allegations. The 28-year-old victim, who is in the garment business and resides in Jogeshwari, told mid-day that on August 15, he had gone to City Mall with his girlfriend to watch a movie. He had parked his Burgman scooter in the parking lot near the mall. At around 12.15 am, after the movie ended, he noticed four to five people doing something with his bike and approaching him.
According to him, officers from the Oshiwara police detection team allegedly opened the panel of a man's Activa outside Infinity Mall, planted drugs inside, and waited for the man to return to his vehicle. When he did, they apprehended him, took him to the police station and detained him overnight. Seeing this, he instructed his girlfriend to record a video and ran towards the bike. As soon as he got close, the individuals grabbed him and identified themselves as policemen from Oshiwara police station, claiming they had found drugs in his bike. According to the complainant, despite his protests that his bike did not contain drugs and showing them his movie ticket as proof of his alibi, they ignored him and took him to the police station at between 12.20 and 12.35 am.
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"I tried to make them understand, but they did not listen. They asked me to inform my family and told my brother to visit the police station. After my brother arrived, they initially demanded R10 lakh to settle the matter, then reduced the amount to Rs 4 lakh, finally settling for R3.10 lakh. There were some officials present whose names I do not know, but two were named Sandeep Barve and Siraj Mujawar. Siraj Mujawar took Rs 3 lakh from a tea stall outside the police station and released me at 7 am," he said.
He added, "This incident not only affected me but also my family. To save me from going to jail on false charges, my family gave whatever savings we had to get me released. It took me some time to come out of this shock. I realised that, like me, this must have happened to many people and will continue to happen. It is important to stop this. Such police personnel, who are tarnishing the reputation of the police force, must be held accountable. That is why I have filed a written complaint with the DCP, and I have been called in today to discuss the issue. If all the CCTV footage from the crime scene to the police station (especially the detection room) and the tea stall located next to the police station are checked, everything will become clear automatically."
He also alleged that officers demanded money to settle the case and released the man at 7 am after taking approximately R3.10 lakh. The victim has filed a formal complaint with the Zone IX DCP, naming the officers involved and demanding action against them.
The officials have stated that the woman involved is accused in a previous NDPS case registered with the DN Nagar police station and was checked based on this information. "Her modus operandi is to accompany someone with a clean record and keep the drugs with them. Accordingly, we checked the bike of the person involved," an officer said.
Recalling a similar incident, a 33-year-old Matunga executive, who was falsely accused by his wife's stalker in 2021, told mid-day that he can't forget the nightmare of the situation. The stalker had planted 485 grams of drugs and a revolver at his Matunga residence. The stalker, who was an informer for the Shahu Nagar police, tipped off the police that Faqrudin Sayyed was involved in the drug trade and planted drugs and a gun at the latter's home. Subsequently, the Shahu Nagar police raided Sayyed's residence and arrested him.
Sayyed and his friend, Gopal Mooponr, were released after mid-day highlighted the incident and the CCTV footage showing the stalker informing the police and planting the drugs. In this case, the accused deceived the police and trapped Sayyed in an attempt to sabotage his engagement. However, the youth's friends gathered all the evidence.
Speaking with mid-day, Sayyed said, "I was trapped by the stalker, who was pursuing my wife in 2021 when my marriage was fixed. I spent almost four to five days in jail with my friend Mooponr; those were the worst days of our lives, and I can hardly recall them. On the first day in jail, the cops pressured us to confess to the crime, but they realised their mistake after reading mid-day's report."
"My friends stood by me, collected crucial evidence, including CCTV footage, and proved that the drugs and gun were planted by the stalker. The footage clearly showed the stalker planting the drugs and gun and then informing the police about my house," Sayyed recalled.
"My friends and mid-day gave me justice, and the police removed all charges against us and released us respectfully. I got my job back and have since been promoted. I am very happy with this outcome. I married my wife 1.5 years ago after the incident, and we are living happily together in Matunga. I am still grateful to all my friends, including Vinayak Hubbaji, Diana Fernando, Parmesh Maitri, Chetan Kamble, Tukaram Chalke, Yeshudas Arulraj and Sadiq Sayyed, as well as the mid-day team for
delivering justice."
In 2013, mid-day reported about a 20-year-old Kalina resident, Rajesh Gupta, who was allegedly framed in a drug case by Bandra police officials in collusion with his landlord, J C D'Souza. The police detained Gupta, claiming they had found drugs on him, while he was alone at home as his family was on vacation.
After the police took Gupta to the station, goons associated with D'Souza reportedly stormed Gupta's house, robbing it of valuables. They also robbed a neighbouring resident, Sufiyan Shah, and abducted him, later releasing him in Virar. Gupta filed a complaint with the Vakola police, who arrested the landlord, revealing that he had orchestrated the entire conspiracy. The Bandra police officers involved were suspended by the then DCP of Zone IX.
12.15am
Time on August 15 cops conducted searches
