3 senior IPS officers accused of framing builder

Mumbai, Dec 27 (UNI) Three senior IPS officers have been accused of forcing their juniors to record and file a false case against a city-based builder.

Builder and developer Rajendra Chaturvedi was arrested by Juhu Police on charges of trying to eliminate a rival builder Rashmikant Shah of Vijay Group last year.

State CID Chief S P C Yadav told journalists that the junior officers PSI Ramesh Sawant and other constables have accepted that they filed a false case against Chaturvedi on orders from the then Joint Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik, Additional Commissioner of Police Bipin Bihari and the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Mr Bihari, who is now with the vigilance department of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, has rubbished the claims and said that the decision to arrest Chaturvedi was collectively taken by many officers as per the police records.

The case relates to a Rs 500 crore plot in Lower Parel, which Shah was developing and Chaturvedi was asked to intervene because of the slow development by Shah.

In February 2006, Juhu Police arrested four persons and a case was filed that they were hired by Chaturvedi to eliminate Shah.

Chaturvedi was subsequently arrested by the police on charges of trying to kill Shah and was released on bail after spending 40 days in jail.

PSI Sawant, who was a part of the investigating team, has told the investigating state CID team that the accused were brought from different places and were shown as arrested at Holiday Inn Hotel in suburban Mumbai by API Jagdish Sail.

Sawant further added that the weapons and cash amounting to Rs 12.5 lakh found with the accused were planted by them, before the accused were arrested.

UNI