Pune: Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar’s COP-24 initiative was introduced to enhance public safety and streamline law enforcement. However, allegations of misconduct by some officers have raised serious questions about its implementation.
In one such case, two beat marshals assigned to Deccan Police Station—Ganesh Desai and Yogesh Sutar—have been accused of threatening a couple and extorting Rs 20,000. According to reports, the duo stopped the couple at Law College Road on June 18 and intimidated them with the prospect of legal action unless they paid up.
With no cash on hand, the male complainant was allegedly escorted to an ATM at Kamala Nehru Park, where he was forced to withdraw the sum before handing it over. The following day, the couple approached senior officers at the Deccan Police Station to lodge a formal complaint.
Following coverage of the incident by Pune Times Mirror, Deputy Commissioner of Police Nikhil Pingle took swift action and suspended Desai and Sutar. “Their actions have not only violated the Maharashtra Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1979, and the Police Act but also severely damaged the reputation of the police department,” stated Pingle in his order.
This is not the first time a police constable in Pune has been accused of extortion. Earlier this month, Vikram Laxman Vadtile of Kondhwa Police Station was also suspended after allegedly extracting Rs 28,000 from a Chennai youth at Bopdev Ghat. Vadtile is said to have threatened the youth over possession of a hookah pot before coercing him into transferring money via Google Pay to an accomplice.
That incident, too, resulted in a formal complaint and Vadtile’s subsequent suspension. Police officials have assured citizens that strict action will continue to be taken against any officer found misusing their authority.
