Sharma behind slain man’s kidnap

Vijay V Singh | TNN

Mumbai: Dismissed cop and encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma played a key role in the kidnapping of Ramnarayan Gupta, a criminal from Vashi, who was later shot by the police in a fake encounter. That was what deputy police commissioner K M M Prasanna, who heads the special investigating team probing the encounter, told the Andheri metropolitan court on Friday. Sharma, police constables Tanaji Desai and Ratnakar Kamble and police informers Akhil Khan, Hitesh Solanki and Shailendra were remanded in police custody till January 14 by magistrate R K Shaikh.

Gupta was picked up on November 11, 2006, from Vashi and brought near the Nana Nani Park in Versova where he was shot by the D N Nagar police. The police stand was that inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi went to the park and asked Gupta to surrender. The police claimed that Gupta fired, and Suryavanshi and his team retaliated, resulting in his death.

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‘My husband’s soul can rest in peace’

Family Of Ramnarayan Gupta Who Was Killed In A Fake Encounter Says They Are Relieved That Justice Is Being Served

S Ahmed Ali | TNN

Mumbai: For advocate Ramprasad Gupta, who is the brother of the deceased Ramnarayan aka Lakhann Bhaiyya, the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) conclusion that his brother was killed by the police in an alleged fake encounter, is a vindication of his long-fought battle for justice.

“The last three years have been very difficult for my family as we were fighting the system for justice. It was an extremely tough phase of our lives.” said a relieved Gupta.

On November 11, 2006, around 7.30 pm, the team of D N Nagar police led by inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi, inspector Dilip Palande and assistant inspector Arvind Sarvankar, claims to have gunned down Ramnarayan Gupta, an alleged Chhota Rajan aide in Andheri. But Ram Prasad insisted that his brother had been kidnapped by plainclothes policemen that evening, and moved the Bombay High Court for justice.

“All my opponents were police officers who were highly connected. We had to move my brother’s wife Subhalaxmi out of the city for security reasons. We were concerned about her safety. She has a son and schoolgoing daughter,” said Gupta, who makes no bones about the fact that his brother did indeed have a criminal past.

“Yes, my brother was a criminal. But that was in the past. He had been rehabilitated successfully, and was living a normal life when he was murdered,” Gupta added.

Within a week of the encounter, Gupta filed a complaint in the High Court seeking a judicial probe. The day his brother had been gunned down, Gupta said he sent a telegram to the Mumbai police commissioner’s office alleging that a couple of plainclothes policemen had kidnapped Gupta.

“Even when Magistrate R A Shaikh was conducting judicial inquiry, she had been threatened by Suryavanshi. Initially, I was afraid. I couldn’t help but think what they would do to me if they had no qualms about threatening a magistrate,” said Gupta.

Support from friends who stood by the family through these trying times, he added, gave them the strength to keep fighting. Ramnarayan’s wife Subhalaxmi is happy that the wheels of justice are moving in the right direction. “Now, my husband’s soul can rest in peace,” she reportedly told Gupta over phone when she heard the news of the arrests that were made.

Advocate Shyam Marwari, who represented Gupta in court, said: “The investigation was handled by the SIT head by DCP Prasanna who is reporting to the high court.”

‘He has had a chequered career spanning more than 2 decades’
Mumbai: Controversy has dogged the footsteps of inspector Pradeep Rameshwar Sharma whose meteoric rise from a sub inspector to an encounter specialist in a little over 23 years is well known. He hails from a village in Dhulia, Maharashtra, where his father Rameshwar Sharma worked as a school principal. It is believed that Sharma got his first “taste’’ of the underworld and the Chhota Rajan gang when he was assigned to the anti-narcotic cell in Bandra. There was a time when he was on good terms with former top cop Vijay Salaskar, who was gunned down during the 26/11 attack. But the two later parted ways, the reasons for which are not known.

Sharma shot to fame during his tenure as a senior inspector in the Crime Intelligence Unit, Andheri. Besides killing gangster Vinod Matkar, he eliminated several underworld kingpins including Parvez Siddiqui, Rafiq Dabbawala, Sadik Kalia and three LeT suspects. But his star began to fade when his name cropped up in some of the more high-profile cases including his alleged involvement in the custodial death of bomb blast accused Khwaja Yunus, his nexus with underworld and Dawood Ibrahim, a land-grabbing case in Malad and the alleged kidnapping and murder of Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhann bhaiya in a fake encounter. Source allege that he later shifted his loyalties to Chhota Shakeel. “He has had a chequered career spanning more than 2 decades,” said an official. —S Ahmed Ali | TNN

The Rise & Fall Of An Inspector
Inspector Pradeep Rameshwar Sharma, (47) joined the force in 1984 as a sub inspector at Mahim police station
Over the last 20-odd years, Sharma is believed to have killed 105 criminals After two years at the Mahim police station, he was transferred to the crime branch. In 1991, he was assigned to Juhu police station

In 1995 | Sharma was promoted to the post of assistant inspector and was assigned to the Anti Narcotic Cell of the crime branch unit in Bandra. In 1997, with Daya Nayak, he was accused of allegedly kidnapping and extorting scrap dealer Mohammed Nabi

Between 1998 and 2003 | Sharma who was heading the Crime Intelligence Unit at the crime branch made headlines after killing several gangsters including Rafik Dabbawala and Vinod Matkar

In 2004 | He took the charge of the Kandivli crime branch unit. He was also allegedly involved in settling land and property disputes with the help of underworld don Chhota Shakeel. His name cropped up in the custodial death of bomb blast accused Khawja Yunus

In 2006 | He came under the scanner for his alleged role in a land-grabbing case in Malad. It was in November 2006 that he allegedly orchestrated the killing of alleged chhota Rajan aide Ramnarayan Gupta in a fake encounter

In mid 2006 Sharma was transferred to Amravati. He returned to Mumbai in 2008 and was posted at Dharavi police station. Within three months then police commissioner Hasan Gafoor dismissed him

In September 2009 | Sharma went appealed to the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal against the dismissal order and shot back. The MAT passed an order to reinstate him with full wages. The Mumbai police’s appeal against the order is still pending in the HC

A LONG BATTLE: Ram Prasad Gupta, the victim’s brother

Huge support for Sharma in court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Suryavanshi, currently senior inspector at MIDC police station, was not present at the court, being on sick leave. The SIT said that the vehicle used for bringing Gupta to Versova was yet to be recovered. Prasanna, who argued the case himself and said that Sharma’s associates had kidnapped Gupta, declared, “As of now we are concentrating on the kidnapping aspect of the case. Later we will focus on Sharma’s role in the murder.’’ All the arrested accused have been booked for kidnapping and murder. Magistrate Shaikh had conducted a probe and concluded that Gupta was in police custody when he was shot. The probe was carried out on the directions of the Bombay high court after Gupta’s brother, Ramprasad, filed a writ stating that his brother had been killed in a fake encounter.

On Friday, a huge crowd, including businessmen and serving and former police personnel like Sachin Vaze and Aslam Momin gathered in the court to extend moral support to Sharma. The defence counsel’s argument to transfer the remand hearing to another court as magistrate Shaikh had earlier conducted a probe was turned down. Senior advocate Shrikant Shivade who represented Sharma, argued that politicians and senior officers had conspired to “eliminate a courageous officer’’ by booking him in false cases.

Suryavanshi, the inspector who shot Gupta, had earlier deposed before Shaikh and claimed that he had only fired in retaliation when Gupta shot at him. However, the court found evidence to suggest that he was at the police station when the alleged incident took place. The magistrate also said that there was no examination of the weapons used by the police officers to verify these claims. Prasanna refused to comment on the action to be taken against Suryavanshi. “We are not in a hurry,’’ he said.

Ramprasad and Aruna Bheda, wife of Anil Bheda who was present with Gupta at Vashi, had sent telegrams and faxes to police commissioners of Navi Mumbai and Mumbai soon after the kidnapping occurred.

Anil Bheda was also picked up by the police and reportedly let off. His version of the story before Shaikh—that he proceeded to Thane from Vashi and went off to Shirdi—was not accepted. The husband-wife duo and a witnesses subsequently gave a statement before the magistrate revealing the true facts.

Damning Report
Ajudicial probe conducted by the magistrate R A Shaikh a year ago had already concluded that the encounter was a fake. “There is strong circumstantial evidence that suggests that Ramnarayan was abducted by the police and killed in custody,’’ said Shaikh in her report. The deceased’s brother Ram Prasad claimed that he had sent three telegrams to then police commissioner A N Roy’s office that his brother had been kidnapped by cops. Though Roy, in an affidavit, said the telegrams could not be traced, the telephone company BSNL confirmed their delivery.

“From the injuries Ramnarayan sustained, it can be made out that the police team’s intention was not to arrest, but was to kill him,” read the report.
—S Ahmed Ali | TNN

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Three-year wait for JUSTICE

Nov 11, 2006 | Around 7.30 pm, the team of D N Nagar policemen led by inspector Pradeep Suryavanshi, inspector Dilip Palande and assistant inspector Arvind Sarvankar, claims to have gunned down alleged Chhota Rajan aide Ramnarayan Gupta alias Lakhann bhaiyya at Versova, Andheri The same day, around 3 pm, Gupta’s wife Subhalaxmi and his brother Ramprasad Gupta, who is an advocate, send a telegram to the police commissioner’s office alleging that some plainclothes policemen had kidnapped Gupta as well as his friend Arun Bheda.
Dec 2006 | Ramprasad moves the HC claiming that his brother was killed in a fake encounter Mar 2007 | The court directs a judicial probe
July 2007 | The Andheri metropolitan magistrate R A Shaikh starts the probe
Aug 2008 | Shaikh submits a confidential report in which she observes that there appears to be some substance in Ramprasad’s allegations that the encounter was nothing but a cold-blooded murder. She suggests that a murder case be registered against the police team. During this period, Suryavanshi threatens Shaikh and her family through some advocates. She files a complaint with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and the HC alleging that Suryavanshi threatened her. HC directs the crime branch to conduct an inquiry
Nov 2008 | The crime branch submits a confidential report stating that a case should be registered against Suryavanshi
Aug 2009 | Court directs police to treat Ram Prasad’s complaint as an FIR and register a case
Oct 2009 | The HC appoints DCP K N Prasanna as the head of the Special Investigating Team. He is asked to conduct an investigation and file a report by January 11, 2010
Jan 7, 2010 | DCP Prasanna summons inspector Pradeep Sharma and his constable under the pretext of questioning them and arrests them. Arrest warrants have also been issued for other officers including Suryavanshi

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An ENCOUNTER Too Many

Pradeep Sharma is not the only police officer who is infamous for gunning down criminals in encounters. With the exception of Daya Nayak who is currently under suspension, all belonged to the elite batch of 1983

Daya Nayak | The sub inspector, under suspension after coming under the scanner of the ACB, joined the force in 1996 where he worked with Sharma. During his stint with the Crime Intelligence Unit, he became known for high-profile encounters. Over the years, Nayak has allegedly logged 86 encounters

Sachin Vaze | The assistant inspector is believed to be one of Sharma’s most trusted lieutenants. In 2004, he was arrested by the state
CID in connection with the custodial death of bomb blast accused Khwaja Yunus. He was arrested on charges of murder and fabrication of evidence. He is out on an interim bail. Vaze’s resignation has not been accepted

Praful Bhosale | An intelligence officer, he was involved in several encounters but escaped major controversies till he was suspended from
service in the Khwaja Yunus case. He was in charge of the Ghatkopar crime branch unit in whose custody Yunus died. Though Bhosale is under suspension, he’s likely to be reinstated due to lack of evidence

Aslam Momin | He worked with Pradeep Sharma at the Andheri CIU and was one of the low-profile officers in the unit. He was
dismissed from service in 2005 for having underworld links. Momin has been accused of allegedly having links with the D Gang. In his appeal, pending in the high court, he has denied having links with the underworld

Ravindra Angre | He became a recognised face in 2003 after the gunning down of Thane’s notorious gangster, Suresh Manchekar.
Angre found himself embroiled in a controversy after builder Ganesh Wagh filed a complaint of extortion, kidnapping and robbery against him. After 13 months in jail, he was released, but is under suspension

Vijay Salaskar | The top cop was gunned down in the 26/11 attack. He was the unofficial ‘head of the death squad’. Salaskar rose to fame
after encounters with hardened criminals like Amar Naik, and two of Arun Gawli’s senior lieutenants including Sada Pawle. He was shunted out of the crime branch after he opened the underworld-gutka-baron nexus in 2005

The Times of India, January 9, 2010