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Sonegaon PI caught on CCTV thrashing restaurant owner

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Police in Sonegaon Maharashtra, unleashed a mindless assault on a restaurant owner after seeing a hookah on his premises.

Some of the dhaba and restaurant owners along Wardha Road alleged that Sonegaon police and excise department officials regularly extort INR 25,000 each from them with the threat of involving them in criminal cases.

Ankit Singh, son of Colonel Satish Kumar Singh, was repeatedly slapped, punched and kicked in his stomach after being thrown to the road by the cops. The entire episode, which lasted for less than five minutes, was captured in closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the premises.

Sonegaon cops led by PI Patil can be seen dragging away Singh, a law graduate, to the police station. He was later charged under the Bombay Prohibition Act, allegedly framing him for selling and providing liquor at his premises. Ankit said that one of the customers was consuming liquor but he had brought it from somewhere and it was not supplied by the restaurant.

Hookah

Ankit, who had a swollen face on Monday, was taken for medical examination four hours after the incident. He also sustained bruises on his back when he was pushed down to the road and kicked by the officer.

The Singhs now plan to place the CD prepared from the CCTV footage before the police commissioner and even the high court for exemplary action in the case. PI Patil, already transferred to state anti-corruption bureau (ACB), was placed as in-charge of Sonegaon police station since senior PI Ashok Pawar was on leave.

Ankit said the CCTV footage shows PI Patil walked into the restaurant premises at 11.42pm and left within a few minutes. “There were only three tables occupied when PI entered with another cop. One of the families left immediately. The PI picked up a hookah from one table in the smoking zone of the restaurant. He handed over the hookah to me and started slapping me right away and kicked me too,” said Ankit. “The hookah fell down from my hand when I was beaten. The PI uttered a filthy abuse and asked me to pick up the hookah before resuming his assault,” said Ankit. The worse part came when Ankit was dragged out of the police jeep and pushed to the road and kicked by the cops.

The Singhs now plan to place the CD prepared from the CCTV footage before the police commissioner and even the high court for exemplary action in the case.

Ankit said he had complained of the highhandedness to DCP Nirmala Devi S, who left without offering any help. Ankit was taken to court after spending the rest of the night in the lock-up. He was given bail by the court. The family also submitted a copy of the CCTV footage to the court.

It’s learnt that Ankit’s restaurant has been functioning on the basis of Gomastha (shop licence) and a couple of permits even as the management was striving to procure the rest of the permissions from police and other departments. Sources among the restaurant owners said that police and other departments ensure that licenses are blocked so as to facilitate illegal operations, paving way for kickbacks and malpractices.

“We have recordings and footage of police demanding bribes and also enjoying free drinks and food at our eateries but no one complains fearing the wrath of the departments,” said the source.

It is also reliably learnt that some excise department officials too had reached Ankit’s restaurant to raid the place, but went away empty-handed. Joint CP Rajvardhan said that he would inquire into the incident when the victim family approaches him for action with necessary details. “Law would take its own course,” he said.

Source: Times of India

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