Mumbai: GRP Officer Rohit Sawant Seeks Anticipatory Bail, Denies Demanding Bribe In Bandra Extortion Case

Mumbai: Rohit Sawant, a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer, has approached the sessions court for anticipatory bail after being booked for allegedly demanding bribes to not implicate a complainant’s brother-in-law in an extortion case.

ACB Alleges Sawant Took Bribe via Lawyer

Sawant was investigating the extortion case where two fake policemen, Nilesh Kalsukar and Pravin Shukla, extorted Rs10 lakh from a garment businessman at Bandra Terminus earlier this month. Following their arrest, Sawant discovered the involvement of Vijay Ingavle, an assistant subinspector with Bandra GRP chowky, who was also arrested. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) alleges that Sawant, through lawyer Arunkumar Singh, demanded Rs10 lakh from the complainant to spare his brother-in-law from arrest. The complainant paid Rs5 lakh to Singh on September 13.

On September 22, the ACB arrested Singh during a trap, but Sawant could not be located. Sawant’s lawyers, Sharad Mulik and MN Yadav, sought interim protection on Thursday, arguing that the investigation is nearly complete, with only voice sample collection pending, which does not require Sawant’s custody. The court directed the prosecution to reply to Sawant’s plea by Friday.

Officer Claims False Implication in Extortion Case

In his plea, Sawant denies demanding any bribe, stating the alleged amount was recovered from Singh, not him. He claims he was falsely implicated because he registered a case against the complainant’s brother-in-law. The plea will be heard on Friday.

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