Mumbai: Sub-inspector among 2 arrested for duping doctor of Rs 61 lakh

On the basis of his statement, a case under relevant sections of assault was registered against the PSI. (Representational Image)

A police sub-inspector (PSI) and his accomplice have been arrested, while two others are on the run, for allegedly duping a 61-year-old doctor on the pretext of securing admission of his daughter for a post-graduation course at KEM hospital, police said Friday.

PSI Milind Hiware was serving as a detection officer at Nagpada police station and had met the complainant Dr Abdul Wahid Gaffar Ansari several times between March and November 2017.

The PSI and his three accomplices — Niyamat Khan, Prasad Kamble and Shivaji Gore — had told the doctor they knew ministers and influential people in the Mantralaya and would help his daughter get admission to the KEM hospital,” an officer from Nagpada police station said. The four accused had reportedly demanded Rs 70 lakh from the complainant, who had eventually paid them Rs 61.5 lakh.

“When Dr Ansari did not see any progress in the procedure of her daughter’s admission, he sensed something amiss and began enquiring with the KEM hospital authorities in the matter. Later, when his daughter did not get admission to the course in June 2018, the doctor asked the accused to return the money, but they started avoiding his calls,” an officer said. The complainant went to the police station and requested Hiware to return the money.

“For a year, Dr Ansari waited for the PSI to return the money. After Hiware was transferred to the Local Arms Department of Mumbai Police, the doctor could not track him. He submitted a complaint application at the police station and after conducting a preliminary investigation a case was registered in October 2019,” the officer added. So far, investigators have managed to get hold of the PSI and Khan, while two others Kamble and Gore, are at large.

Mahim police, meanwhile, lodged a complaint after a 55-year-old man accused a sub-inspector of assault. The PSI, in turn, has filed a counter-complaint accusing the man of preventing him from discharging his duty.

Ganesh Tukaram Jalgaonkar, 55, reportedly had visited Mahim police station around 5.30pm Thursday to check the progress in an investigation into a kidnapping case. Jalgaonkar was accompanying his friend Nadeem Wajid Shaikh, whose son had reportedly gone missing February 19. According to Jalgaonkar, when he asked sub-inspector G Satav about the places the police had searched to find Shaikh’s son, the officer started assaulting him. Jalgaonkar claimed Satav had banged his head on the table at the station house due to which he sustained head injuries.

On the basis of his statement, a case under relevant sections of assault was registered against the PSI. A case was also registered against Jalgaonkar after Satav alleged that he had stopped the PSI from discharging his duty. No arrest has been made so far in either of the cases, an investigator said.