Mumbai: The Mumbai Railway Police have suspended three police personnel in connection with the case of a 37-year-old jewellery merchant who was robbed at Mumbai Central railway station. However, no arrests have been made so far.
Statement Of The Commissioner Of Mumbai Railway Police
Rakesh Kalasagar, Commissioner of Mumbai Railway Police, stated, “Assistant sub inspector Lalit Jagtap, head constable Rahul Bhosale, and Anil Rathod have been suspended, and an enquiry has been initiated. Apart from that, four other cops have been transferred to headquarters in connection with the jewellery merchant extortion case.”
The jewellery merchant from Rajasthan was allegedly robbed at Mumbai Central railway station by three men dressed in khaki. The incident took place on August 10 at platform no. 5. The complainant, who was waiting for an express train, was approached by a man in khaki attire who checked his bag and found a gold piece and cash. The trio then robbed him of a 14-gram gold piece and Rs 30,000 in cash.
According to the FIR, the complainant, Kuldeep Kumar Soni, is a jewellery merchant residing in Churu, Rajasthan. He had come to Mumbai with his daughter on August 1 to celebrate the Raksha Bandhan festival, as his sister lives in the city. On August 10, he was reterning returned to Rajasthan. Soni reached Mumbai Central station at around 10:30 p.m. with his 8-year-old daughter, Bhavi Soni, and brother-in-law, Dinesh Soni. They were waiting for the Duronto Express, scheduled to depart at 11 p.m.
At platform no. 5, a man in khaki uniform, without a nameplate, was seated at a chair with a table. He called Soni and his relatives towards him and checked Soni’s bag. Upon checking, he found a 14-gram gold bar and Rs.31,900 in cash. When questioned about it, Soni explained that he had receipts for the gold. Despite this, the man abused and beat him in front of his daughter.
The man then called an accomplice, also dressed in khaki, and together they took the trio to a dark room near the platform. There, a third man, dressed in khaki and pretending to be a senior officer, joined them. The three men verbally abused the merchant, physically assaulted him, threatened to arrest him, and pressured him into signing a blank paper. During the ordeal, the complainant’s daughter started crying and was traumatised. When the train was about to depart, the accused took away the gold bar and Rs.31,000 in cash from Soni, When Soni told he had no money during the journey then they returned only Rs.1,900. They then let them go.
After returning to Rajasthan, Soni lodged a complaint about the incident at Ratangarh police station on August 18. The case was later transferred to the Mumbai Central GRP. Based on his complaint, a case has been registered against three unidentified persons in khaki uniforms under Section 119(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to extort property, or to constrain a person to commit an illegal act) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
