The Mumbai Crime Branch will record a statement of an additional commissioner of police in connection with a 2018 assault case against two aides of gangster Ejaz Lakdawala, which was mysteriously transferred to a different police station within two hours of it being registered.
The case was taken over by the Crime Branch last Saturday as part of its investigation against Tariq Parveen and Salim Maharaj, the alleged aides of Mr. Lakdawala. Following their arrest, it came to light that a two-year-old case had been pending against them with the MRA Marg police station.
Senior Crime Branch officials said statements of two senior inspectors, Sanjay Kamble and Sukhlal Varpe, who were in charge of the MRA Marg police station in the past two years, have been recorded. On Wednesday, Additional Commissioner of Police Pravin Padwal, who is now with the Traffic Police, was summoned to record his statement. Mr. Padwal was the Additional Commissioner of Police, South when the case was transferred from Pydhonie police station to MRA Marg.
“We asked Mr. Kamble and Mr. Varpe about the sudden transfer of the case. Both of them have said they had received ‘orders from above’ and were just following them,” a senior officer with the Mumbai Police said. The officers will have to explain why there was no progress on the case for over two years, he said.
“They did not even invoke the Customs Act in the case despite indications that the complainant was assaulted by Mr. Parveen and Mr. Maharaj over a smuggling-related dispute. No attempts seem to have been made to apprehend the accused; neither was a summary report filed in court stating that no substantiation had been found of the complainant’s allegations,” the officer said.
Another officer said Mr. Padwal will also be asked about the transfer of the case and the grounds for doing so. Depending on his statement, more senior officers may be summoned, he said.
