Is police filing FIR or NC for Threat Call from "Crime Branch Cop", Shiv Sena MLA and Bhagtani Builder?

To
Shri Dattatray Padsalgikar, IPS,
Police Commissioner,
CP Compound, Opp Crawford Market,
Mumbai

19th October, 2017

Dear Sir,

Happy Diwali and Saal Mubaarak. With reference to my complaint emailed to you on Sunday ( http://bit.ly/Threat-Call-Complaint ), Jt. CP Crime promptly forwarding it to DCP Zone 12 with copy to me. I met DCP Zone 12, who directed Senior Inspector of Kasturba Marg Police to take my statement. Text of my statement: http://bit.ly/Police-Statement-17Oct2017

However, Non Cognizable (NC) offense was sought to be registered by concerned police officers, to give the matter a burial without any investigation. As your website says, "No police officer can investigate a non-cognizable case (NC) unless he obtains prior permission of a Magistrate..."

Sir, kindly direct Kasturba Marg Police to register FIR as cognizable offenses are made out:

• IPC 503. Criminal intimidation. I was threatened with bodily harm as well as harm to my property.

• IPC 190. Threat  of  injury  to  induce  person  to  refrain  from  applying  for protection  to  public servant. The caller claimed that he was from crime branch of Mumbai police, in order to instill fear in me which would prevent me from complaining to the police and seeking your protection. 

• IPC 506. Threat to cause grievous harm. Sir, the caller threatened to cause permanent bodily damage, so that I would be incapable of earning my own livelihood. IPC 506 says, "Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation ... if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc. — shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both."

• IPC 170. Personating a public servant. The threat caller claimed to be "crime branch officer Pravin Sonavane", and attempted to impress and intimidate me with his authority to raid my house and arrest me.  It is most likely that he is not a crime branch officer of Mumbai police, hence attracting the provisions of Section 170. "170. Personating a public servant. — Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as a public servant... and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both." The threat caller  "under colour of such office". 

• IPC 116: Public servant abetting a crime. In the unlikely event that the caller is indeed a crime branch officer, he was arguably abetting Bhagtani builders in cheating thousands of flat buyers by making efforts to suppress information being made public by me. "116.  Abetment  of  offence  punishable  with  imprisonment — if abettor ... be a public servant whose duty it is to prevent offence. — ... if the abettor ... is  a  public  servant,  whose  duty  it  is  to  prevent  the  commission  of  such offence, the abettor shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for that offence, for  term which may extend to one-half of the longest term provided for that offence, or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both."
  

Sir, please bear in mind:

1) Complaint is not based on hearsay. The call recording of the threat call, along with the caller's mobile number, is now available to all police officers throughout Mumbai as I have put it on internet. This is incontrovertible evidence of the call and the exact words spoken; it is not my word against his!

2) Caller issued threats on behalf of large-scale scamsters and builders. Unlike threats that happen due to petty interpersonal disputes, the said threat call was made on behalf of Bhagtani builders to suppress the public unravelling of their large-scale economic scam. Half a dozen FIRs stand registered by Santacruz Police and EOW against Dipesh Lakshman Bhagtani, Mukesh Lakshman Bhagtani and Lakshman Purshottam Bhagtani, who have cheated over 2000 individuals in India and abroad out of well over Rs 600 crore. It is an organized crime ring involving multiple corporate entities and large numbers of employees and partners daily engaging in a very energetic money-laundering spin-cycle, which involves fooling hundreds of people into believing that their money has been returned to them by a circuitous transaction, whereas in reality, the money travels through bank accounts of other builders and returns to the Bhagtanis. Modus operandi: http://bit.ly/Bhagtani-Transfer-Scam .)

3) This caller may have some connection with Shiv Sena. Police investigation is called for to rule out political patronage by the ruling Shiv Sena party MLA, who was prominently mentioned by the caller.

4) The caller is possibly a crime branch officer. Sir, Mumbai's police force is doing an admirable job, but it has some black sheep. Investigation is necessary to rule out the possibility that the caller was really an officer of the crime branch, as he claimed.

Sir, I am a common man who studies law from publicly available resources, such as http://bit.ly/Indian-Penal-Code . I don't presume to teach you the laws, nor do I wish to tell you how to perform your duty. I have full faith in your mission statement on the Mumbai Police website, which says, "Mumbai Police shall ensure the Rule of Law, enforce the law of the land impartially and firmly without fear or favour, and strive to create a fear free environment that is conducive to growth and development."  

I trust that the matter will be properly investigated to rule out the involvement of a Mumbai police officer and/or of a ruling party MLA in Bhagtani builder's scam. Mumbai Police owes it to the general public to give satisfactory answers to these important questions. Closing the case by registering an NC will leave these questions wide open in the public consciousness.

Hence, kindly direct Kasturba Marg Police to promptly register an FIR and conduct investigations.

Yours sincerely,

Krishnaraj Rao

Journalist 

9821588114

krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

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