June 27: The state minister for home, Gajanan Kirtikar, is accused of interfering in the police work. Barely two hours after nabbing four extortionists on Thursday, allegedly Shiv sainiks, he rang up the investigating officer at Vallabhbhai Patel police station and fired him for arresting what he called `innocent people.'

Armed with choppers the foursome allegedly threatened and demanded money from metal trader Atul Parikh on Tuesday. Parikh was asked to keep the money ready by Thursday at 4 pm, the police said.

On receiving the complaint, the V P Road police laid a trap and nabbed the extortionists when they showed up at Parikh's office at Panjrapole in Bhuleshwar. ``Even when the interrogations were on, Kirtikar Saheb called at our police station and scolded us for arresting the `innocent' persons,'' an officer from the V P Road police station told Express Newsline. However, the police did not succumb to the pressure.

The quartet were identified as Jalinder Kale, Raju Laad, Dinesh Nakhwa and Sandeep Worlikar. They were alleged to be Shiv Sena activists from the Masjid Bunder area.

Interrogations established financial dispute as the motive behind the crime. Parikh owed about Rs 1.25 lakh to another metal trader Mukesh Mehta from Masjid Bunder who shifted his office from Panjrapole. However, when he could not pay up, Mehta tried using muscle power. While the quartet face charges of extortion, Mukesh Mehta escaped.

Using his contacts with the local branch of Shiv Sena, Mehta tried to intimidate Parikh. One of the accused, Nakhwa, is reportedly related to the shakha pramukh of Masjid Bunder.

When Gajanan Kirtikar was contacted at his residence, he did not deny calling up the police station. The Sena Minister said, ``First, all the accused were not shiv sainiks. It was not an extortion case as the police have alleged. It was a matter of trade and the case is absolutely fabricated. The police were used unnecessarily.''

On the matter of interference, he replied, ``It is my prerogative to intervene for the sake of justice.''

In a similar case in the past, the minister has allegedly interfered in the police work. Two persons had threatened builder Charles Joseph of Powai and demanded money. The Vikhroli Parksite police had picked Sudhakaran Nair alias Suru and Mohan Pillai for threatening the builder.

The minister had then summoned the investigating officer G M Chavan along with the accused to his `Sarang' bungalow and severely reprimanded the officer for arresting the `respectable persons'. The officer was later transferred to the Tardeo police station.

When this reporter asked about the incident, Kirtikar said, ``Even that case was a fabricated one and I only interfere in such cases.''

Kirtikar is also known for protecting the controversial assistant police inspector from the Nagpada police station Vijay Salaskar who was embroiled in controversy during his tenure in the narcotics cell of the crime branch.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.