Key accused in the Angadia extortion case inspector Om Wangate has claimed that he had taken legal action against Angadias on the instructions of DCP Saurabh Tripathi but denied any wrongdoing. The Mumbai Police on Tuesday named DCP Saurabh Tripathi as a wanted accused in the Angadia extortion case, in which three policemen have been arrested and suspended from service.
According to the police, the First Information Report which was registered on February 18 was registered against three police officers of LT Marg police station but the DCP was not made an accused in the case as there was no evidence found against him initially. However, during the course of investigation, substantial evidence were gathered against the DCP based on which he was booked on the charges of extortion, said police.
"Several police teams were formed and sent to Lucknow, the home town of the DCP along with several other locations however he is yet to be located. He is not available at his official residence in Mumbai, said police officials.
Meanwhile, the police have sent a letter to the state home department for taking administrative action against the DCP, while the crime branch has also submitted their report to the home department.
After the FIR was registered, DCP was transferred to DCP operations, however, he never reported to duty and remained absent. His wife has informed the police that Tripathi is not well but no such documents were produced, said police.
The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) investigating the case has so far arrested Wangate, API Nitin Kadam and PSI Samadhan Jamdade all attached to the L T Marg police.
According to the police, in their allegation, the Angadia association claimed that the arrested officers detained a few Angadias on multiple occasions in the month of December and allegedly extorted over ₹ 18-20 lakh from them by threatening to book them or tip the Income Tax department about their illegal activities.
