The authority also quoted orders issued by the Supreme Court in 2013 and the Maharashtra Police in 2012 for the police to immediately register FIRs in cognisable offences or in exceptional cases, conduct and conclude a preliminary inquiry within two days and file a case. (File)THE STATE Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) has recommended punitive action against a deputy commissioner of police and a senior inspector in Mumbai for delaying the registration of an FIR by 11 months.
NGO Deepak Seva Sangh Parksite from Vikhroli (West) had approached the Authority in January, alleging that Vilas Jadhav, senior inspector of Park Site police station and Akhilesh Singh, DCP of Zone VII, had stalled a probe into its complaint.
According to the NGO, it used to receive electricity bills from Reliance Energy in the name of its founder, late V M Shirsath. Gurunath Pednekar, the NGO’s chairman, has alleged that in April 2017, the organisation was shocked to get an electricity bill in the name of local resident Anil Dangwal, who he claimed to be a “mischievous person” and “land grabber”.
When repeated letters to Reliance Energy, seeking copies of documents submitted by Dangwal to insert his name in the bills, failed to elicit a response, the NGO approached the police on June 23, 2017.
However, no FIR was registered. Pednekar then filed a complaint to DCP Singh’s office on August 23, 2017, followed by a reminder on November 8, 2017. Receiving no response, he approached the SPCA.
After the SPCA issued notices to both the officers, an FIR was registered at Park Site police station in April and Dangwal was booked for cheating and forgery under the IPC. He was later arrested, and a subsequent investigation showed he had submitted forged documents to Reliance Energy to insert his name in the electricity bill.
In their findings, SPCA chairman Justice (retd) A V Potdar and members P K Jain and Umakant Matkar noted that the delay in registering the offence showed “dereliction on the part of these officials in the performance of their duties as per law and in public interest.”
The authority also quoted orders issued by the Supreme Court in 2013 and the Maharashtra Police in 2012 for the police to immediately register FIRs in cognisable offences or in exceptional cases, conduct and conclude a preliminary inquiry within two days and file a case.
“One can understand that the judgment of the Supreme Court may not have been circulated to the police officers, but by no stretch of imagination it can be presumed that the circular issued by the Additional Director General (Law and Order), which was circulated to all the commissioners of police, superintendents of police, all additional director generals of police and all range inspectors general of police, and directed to be disseminated to the police station level was not circulated either to Park Site PS or to DCP Zone VII Mumbai,” the order stated.
The authority was also not satisfied with the replies filed by the police officers, who claimed that there was a delay in registering the FIR because the preliminary inquiry was ongoing. It also took a dim view of the fact that the preliminary inquiry itself was initiated five months after the complaint was first received.
Observing that the actions of the officers “are not excusable in law”, the authority recommended to the additional chief secretary (Home) that a departmental inquiry be initiated against Jadhav and a letter of displeasure be issued to DCP Singh.
