Pune: Externed Criminal Rapes Mother-In-Law In Alandi; Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Suspend Constable Over Lapses As Externment Violations Rise

Pimpri-Chinchwad: In a shocking case which has rocked Pune District and has raised serious questions about policing and law enforcement, a history sheeter sexually assaulted his own mother-in-law on Wednesday. Despite being externed from Pune District for two years, the accused was brazenly living a ‘normal life’ in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate (PCPC) limits, where he committed the crime.

A 40-year-old woman from Dharashiv has filed a complaint at Alandi Police Station. Alandi Police arrested the 25-year-old notorious criminal on Thursday. He has been booked under the BNS Sections 64 (punishment for rape), 351 (criminal intimidation), and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.

According to police reports, after being externed from the district limits, the accused lived with his wife and kids at Chimbali Phata under the jurisdiction of Alandi Police Station, which comes under PCPC limits. The mother-in-law of the accused visited a few days prior and was living with the family. However, on Wednesday evening, taking advantage of nobody being home, the accused reportedly sexually assaulted her. He also threatened her to be silent.

The woman, however, bravely reported the matter to the Alandi Police Station, who responded promptly and detained the accused after he committed the crime. He was produced in the Khed Court after he was arrested, where he was granted five days' police custody.

Police Inspector Bhima Narke, in charge of the Alandi Police Station, told The Free Press Journal, “After being externed for theft and physical assault offences, the accused was living near Alandi. His 40-year-old mother-in-law, who is a native of Dharashiv, visited him and his wife. She was staying with her daughter when the accused allegedly raped her. We detained him on Thursday and produced him in court, where he was remanded to five days of police custody.”

In-Charge Constable Suspended

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 3) Maruti Jagtap has ordered the suspension of Police Constable Bhagwat Shepe, who was in charge of the externed criminal who committed the crime. Police said that the externed accused’s original residence is in the Balaji Nagar slum area under the jurisdiction of the MIDC Bhosari Police Station, and he was recently residing at Chimbali Phata within the Alandi Police Station limits.

Given his criminal history, Pimpri-Chinchwad police had externed him from the Pune district for two years starting 8th April 2024. Senior police officials said that Constable Shepe was required to monitor the accused, and as he failed to do so, which allowed the criminal to roam freely within the commissionerate limits for two months, he has been suspended.

Failure of the ‘Criminal Adoption Scheme’

The Pimpri-Chinchwad police implement an ‘Externed Criminal Adoption Scheme’ (Tadipar Aropic Dattak Yojana). Under this, externed criminals from a particular police station are assigned to specific police constables. The constable's responsibility is to track the location of the externed individual, update information on their current activities, and maintain constant surveillance to ensure they do not commit further crimes or re-enter the prohibited limits.

Many times, repeat offenders or accused criminals in organised crimes are externed from the city limits. As they have a set network of accomplices in their area, they are externed with the hope that they stop committing crimes due to being away from their ‘comfort zone’. However, due to lapses such as these, externed offenders find entry back into the city limits and continue committing such crimes.

Police officials claimed that the externed criminals are escorted out of the district limits. However, a recurring pattern has been seen where many return to the area within days. Without police permission, these goons roam openly in society, often carrying lethal weapons to create terror.

Recently, a series of separate incidents involving notorious externed criminals have come to light. At Alandi Police Station, officers seized a pistol from an externed criminal, Ketan Prakash Shinde, earlier this week. In two other cases, police from Chikhali and Sant Tukaram Nagar Police Stations recovered pistols and live cartridges from Rohit Prakash Hire and Dinesh Gorakh Mane. Meanwhile, in Kalewadi and Sangvi, externed goons Swapnil Sanjay Yedte of Thergaon and Akshay Dashrath Shinde of Pimple Gurav were apprehended last week while carrying koytas.