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From hero to zero

S Hussain in Bombay

In an unprecedented crackdown on the black sheep of the police force, the Maharashtra police chief, Arvind Inamdar, recently sacked a senior police inspector of the crime branch, Prabhakar Babar, for his alleged nexus with the underworld.

Babar was arrested by officers of the Anti-Corruption Bureau in November last year while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a hotel-owner from South Bombay. According to the ACB report, Babar had been a regular at the bar and never paid for his drinks.

At times, when Babar got drunk, he would make a scene and disturb customers at the bar, which affected the hotel's business. However, Dharmesh Puri, the bar-owner, tolerated every nonsense from Babar fearing his uniform.

What proved to be the proverbial last straw was when Babar demanded Rs 100,000 from Puri. Initially, he was unwilling to part with the sum, and gave slack business as a reason for not being able to fulfil Babar's demand.

Slighted at this refusal, a livid Babar threatened to either kill Puri in a police encounter or tip off the gangsters to gun him down. Terrified, Puri approached the ACB. The then director general of the bureau, Gyanchand Verma, asked him to negotiate with Babar and set up a trap. Puri was told to convince Babar to accept the amount in two instalments of Rs 50,000 each.

On November 18 last year, when Puri handed him a packet of marked notes, Babar was too clever, and asked him to hand over the money to one Gopal, his aide, sitting at a corner table. The ACB officers who were nearby were watching Babar's every move.

When Gopal, after accepting the money, approached Babar and delivered the packet to him, the ACB sleuths swooped down on them and arrested the duo. Babar's arrest shocked the entire police force. Although he never had a squeaky clean image, as officer in-charge of unit 1 of crime branch, Babar was known for a wide network of informants and his professionalism.

In fact, just two days prior to his arrest, Babar was hailed as a hero for the largest arms seizure since the Bombay serial blasts of 1993. It was Babar's information which led the crime branch to a major haul of over 21 AK-47 guns from a godown at Cotton Green in central Bombay. Everybody was envious of Babar's stupendous success and he himself had been revelling in the glory.

At the time, Babar had told this reporter, "I have been framed only to rob me of credit for the arms seizure. My colleagues and my senior have plotted against me." Even while Babar was saying this, he sounded inebriated.

Following Babar's arrest by the ACB, the police commissioner, R H Mendonca transferred him to the mofussil region of the state and later to Bhandara. However, Babar did not report for duty and tried his best to get his transfer cancelled and stay on in Bombay.

In the meantime, the ACB had collected more facts and dug out Babar's background. As per procedure, the ACB submitted its detailed report to the competent authority which in this case was Mendonca. The commissioner passed on the confidential report to his boss, Inamdar who then dismissed Babar under Article 311B of the Constitution.

Before taking charge as senior police inspector of unit I, crime branch, Babar had served as senior police inspector in the arms and ammunition department at the police headquarters. Babar also held postings at the MRA Marg police station, airport security and special branch, all critical wings.

Inamdar's decision has been widely hailed within the force. According to senior police officers it is the first dismissal of a senior police officer for his alleged nexus with gangsters.

Not that policemen have not been shown the door under Article 311B before, in fact the constitutional provision was invoked by police chiefs twice in recent times.

Prominent among them was the dismissal of sub-inspector Ashok Khedkar of the anti-narcotics cell who was sacked in 1997 for corruption. Khedkar had shielded some drug peddlers and allowed some to go scot-free. Finally the arrests of two others by the Narcotics Control Board sealed his fate and he was sacked.

Prior to this, former police commissioner, Amarjeet Singh Samra had sacked three policemen from the Pydhonie police station for dereliction of duty in March 1993, specifically for failing to protect Muslims during the communal riots of 1992-93.

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