Mumbai, Mar 22: The Maharashtra government today announced suspension of a senior IPS officer, who allegedly secretly filmed the interrogation of Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, facing massive money laundering charges, and leaked its doctored CDs, apparently to malign the government.
State Home Minister R R Patil told the state Assembly that Ashok Deshbrathar, DCP (Government Railway Police), has been placed under suspension and a departmental inquiry ordered against him, ending the suspense over the government action against the IPS officer.
Speculations were rife since yesterday that the officer had been placed under suspension. Patil said action had been taken after a CID inquiry into the CD episode recommended that the officer be sacked from the force under article 311 of the Constitution and criminal case be filed against him under section 500 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) IPC and section three of Incitement to disaffection act 1922.
In the CD, he said, Khan was shown boasting of his links with top Congress and NCP leaders and how the decision to appoint Hassan Gafoor as Mumbai police commissioner was taken at a meeting in a suburban five star hotel.
"It has been proved in the (CID) investigation that the police officer had doctored the CD with an intention to malign the government. He did not pass on the information about his secret interrogation to his superiors which proves his ulterior motive," Patil said.
Patil said though the CID recommended Deshbrathar's dismissal, the government had decided only to suspend him and order a department enquiry as part of natural justice. "We want to enable him to put forward his statement in the matter."
The minister said the voice in the CD was that of Deshbrathar but he was not seen in the footage shot with a pen camera.
Patil rejected the claim made in the CD that he, Congress President Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel and former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had met in the presence of Khan at a five star hotel in suburban Mumbai to decide on the appointment of Gafoor as police commissioner.
He said the concerned hotel had been closed down in 2005 and parts of the premises are rented out for marriages.
"The date mentioned in the CD (of the meeting) was the day of marriage of the daughter of Yusuf Lakdawala (a builder). Nobody mentioned in the CD was present there including Hasan Ali," he said.
The minister said Deshbrathar had interrogated Khan several times between December 15 and 23, 2008 when the latter was arrested in a fake passport case in Mumbai. "But he never shared the information with his superiors or gave any directions to his juniors in the case."
Patil said Deshbrathar did not interrogate Khan regarding charges for which he had been arrested but asked unrelated questions. He also alleged that Deshbrathar had demanded Rs one crore from Yusuf Lakdawala to give good treatment to Hasan Ali Khan in custody.
Patil rubbished the charge levelled by BJP member Devendra Phadanvis that the officer was suspended because he sought permission to intervene in the Hasan Ali Khan case in the Supreme Court. Phadanvis said the officer was suspended on March 19 after he sought permission on March 15 to furnish information against Khan.
Patil said the committee headed by Chief Secretary had cleared Deshbrathar for promotion but it was decided to keep it on hold pending completion of CID inquiry. To this Phadanvis wondered why was he cleared for promotion when such serious allegations were pending against the officer. He also wanted to know why the government did not initiate any action against the officer earlier if it knew he had demanded money from Lakdawala.
The house had to be adjourned twice amid uproar over the issue. For the first time for ten minutes when Opposition members rejected Patil's statement and later for 30 minutes when Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse raised the issue of a newspaper report that three former Chief Ministers and bureacrats of the state had desposited funds in foreign banks through Hasan Ali Khan.
Khadse said the report has been submitted to the Supreme Court by the Enforcement Directorate. PTI
