Nagpur ASI suspended after diary showed accused couple's house locked; they were home

Nagpur: An entry in the station diary said the house was locked from outside, though the accused couple were inside it. The Crime Branch nevertheless took the couple into custody and produced them in court. The lapse in serving an arrest warrant has now landed the Hudkeshwar police in trouble. Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil suspended Hudkeshwar police station ASI Vilas Bagde with immediate effect.

The case relates to a cheque bounce matter in Mumbai. A court had issued an arrest warrant against Vinod Bokde, a resident of Hudkeshwar, and his wife. ASI Bagde was given the responsibility of serving the warrant. He went to the Bokde house to serve it. When the couple were not found, Bagde recorded in the station diary that the house was locked and that the accused were not found.

The delay in serving the warrant came to the notice of the Police Commissioner, who directed Crime Branch Unit 4 to arrest the accused. The Crime Branch took the Bokde couple into custody and produced them in court. The Commissioner was incensed by this and reprimanded the Hudkeshwar police.

To escape responsibility, an officer at Hudkeshwar made Bagde the scapegoat and sent a report against him, as a result of which Bagde was suspended with immediate effect.

The Hudkeshwar police station has been in the news for some time for lax discipline. Senior officers have issued the officer more than a dozen default notices, yet the officer remains in the post. Every employee at the station is troubled by the role of this officer, who takes refuge with politicians.

Bagde was due to retire in just six months. There is intense resentment among police personnel over the action against him. They say officers who shield someone with a record of default notices punish only junior staff.