Ytl cop’s wife blames PSO for hubby’s death

Yavatmal: Blaming police station officer (PSO) responsible for her husband Rajendra Kudmethe’s death in attack by a goon and his mother, wife of the deceased head constable, Maya, has demanded compensation of Rs1 crore and suitable job for the cop’s only son Pankaj.
Maya also demanded that the state declare her husband a martyr as he died on duty.

Rajendra Kudmethe, attached to Maregaon police station of Yavatmal district, along with four cops, had gone to execute an arrest warrant on a petty criminal Anil Meshram of Hiwri village last Sunday (November 25) night when the accused and his mother had assaulted the police team with lathis leading to Kudmethe’s death. Two other policemen were also injured in the attack.

According to Maya, her husband was sick on Saturday and they were about to take him to a hospital when PSO Dilip Wadgaonkar called him on duty and entrusted him the job to execute a non-bailable arrest warrant issued by a court on Anil Meshram.

Narrating the turn of events to chairman of the farm distress task force chairman Kishore Tiwari, who called on the deceased cop’s kin at their Wani-based residence at the behest of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maya said her husband and four others were sent to arrest Anil Meshram at night and when the cops reached the hut of the accused and called him out, he and his mother Indira came out and attacked them with lathis in which Kudmethe died. The accused Anil fled the spot and is yet to be caught.

“Ignoring the fact that the accused Anil is a hard-core criminal, the PSO deputed my husband without any arms which led to his untimely death,” Maya said, adding the cops are still groping in the dark despite the assailant murdering a man in uniform.

“It is surprising that none of the senior police officials visited the deceased cop’s house till date and even the Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir failed to meet the bereaved family though he visited the town 3-4 times after the brutal killing,” Tiwari said.