Mumbai Cop arrested for extorting Rs.3 lakh from drug peddler l

Mumbai: in a worst crime incident to come to light is of Mumbai police constable Vithal Dahibavkar, 52, attached to the Local Arms-3 force who has been accused of extorting Rs 3 lakh from a drug consumer in Goregaon East on October 21. Reportedly Dindoshi police arrested hom on Tuesday.

Sources reveal that the drug consumer is a 21-year-old resident of Maitri Park, Goregaon East. On October 21, he purchased cocaine worth Rs 7,000 wbich was to be consumed at a birthday party that night from a Nigerian drug peddler. No sooner the peddler vanished in thin air, the purchaser was approached by Dahibavkar who claimed to be a crime branch officer and threatened to take him to Dindoshi police station and subsequently get him arrested. The complainant suggested they settle the matter and Dahibavkar demanded a R25-lakh bribe. Eventually, the duo settled on a Rs 3 lakh bribe. The money was arranged by the drug purchaser and was let go. However, after a couple of days later when he realised that he has been cheated, he approached the police.

The exchange of money was caught on a CCTV camera, which led to Dahibavkar being traced and apprehended by the Crime Branch Unit XII on Tuesday morning.

Dahibavkar belongs to the 1989 batch and was attached to the LA-3 in Worli. He resides in Santacruz East with his family. He confessed that he had been taking bribes in this manner for two years. His modus operandi involved trailing Nigerian drug peddlers in auto rickshaws and ‘apprehending’ customers after the peddler had left. He has extorted from people in Vakola, Dindoshi and other parts of the city. As per senior police inspector Dahibavkar, the culprit has been booked and arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. He will be produced in court on Wednesday. “We are investigating if others are involved too asserted Dahibvkar.

Input by K.V.Raman