TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Acting quick and tough against the tainted anti burglary squad, the Police Department has suspended Police Inspector Sandesh Chodankar besides registering a first information report (FIR) against him and another suspended constable Shatun Shetye for corruption charges.
Their arrests are likely, particularly Chodankar for masterminding and executing the Rs 7 lakh extortion plan with his ‘hand-picked’ team of six constables – five of whom now stand as witnesses in the case.
The duo has been booked under sections 7, 8 and 13 (1) 9d) (II) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, and Section 166 (a) (b) of the Indian Penal Code by the Crime Branch (CB) sleuths
“If we need custodial interrogation during the course of the investigation, we might arrest,” Crime Branch Superintendent of Police Kartik Kashyap said while replying to Herald’s question whether the suspended khaki-men would face arrests.
This is Chodankar’s second suspension and FIR, after being nailed in the death of NRI seafarer Cipriano Fernandes in January 2011. He was recently reinstated and posted at Goa Reserve Police camp from where he was pulled out to head the anti-burglary squad under the Crime Branch.
The Crime Branch is now looking out for the owner of the ayurvedic treatment centre, from whom Chodankar had accepted the extortion amount after threatening to raid the premise for prostitution. “He threatened to raid the centre for running a prostitution den, though there was no illegal activity going on there. The police inspector then demanded Rs 7 lakh, which was paid to him,” one of the whistleblower constables had told Herald. However, the owner is now untraceable and has also shut his centre.
As per the confession of the constables, Chodankar had given Rs 1 lakh to his henchman –Shetye– to distribute among others while he kept the major share of Rs 6 lakh with him. Shetye distributed Rs 10,000 to each of the five constables and Rs 50,000 with himself. It was the guilt of one of them that spilled the beans, exposing Chodankar.
