Mira-Bhayandar police constable held for selling MD drugs, accomplice also arrested
Police constable Prakash Pawar and Akhilesh Kumar were arrested with 9.2 grams of MD drugs in Bhayandar East, and sent to five days in police custody.
A police constable has been arrested on charges of selling MD drugs in Mira-Bhayandar, even as action against the sale of narcotics is under way in the city, causing a stir. The Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested Prakash Pawar, a police constable with the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate. His alleged associate, Akhilesh Kumar, has also been arrested.
The action is said to have been based on a tip-off received by Sandeep Doifode, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), Nitin Patil, Assistant Commissioner of Police, and Sushilkumar Shinde, senior police inspector of the Anti-Narcotics Cell. A trap was laid near the Hanuman temple in the lane of the gas godown in the Golden Nest area of Bhayandar East, and Pawar was caught there.
In the operation, 9.2 grams of MD drugs, a Burgman scooter, Rs 10,000 in cash and two mobile phones were seized. The total value of the seized items has been put at Rs 1,32,550.
A case has been registered at Navghar police station. Both accused were produced in court, which remanded them to five days in police custody.
Pawar has been in the police service since 2010. He was earlier posted at Mira Road police station. He was recently transferred from Kanakia police station to police headquarters.
Police Commissioner Aniket Kaushik has pledged to make Mira-Bhayandar drug-free. With a member of the police force itself now accused of selling drugs, questions are being raised about how effectively the campaign is being run.
Complaints about the sale of drugs in the city have been coming in. Action against sellers alone will not be enough, and an investigation into the suppliers behind the trade, the chain that reaches customers and possible associates is said to be necessary. Earlier, a case of a drug-manufacturing unit found on the farm of an employee linked to Nayanagar police station had also drawn attention. Questions are therefore being raised about the monitoring of police personnel, impartial inquiry into complaints and the impact of the anti-drug campaign.
Assistant Police Inspector Kishor Dhaygude is investigating the case further. Attention now turns to whether the entire chain behind the drug trade comes to light.
