Ex-army officer beaten and robbed; Neral police fails to help

Pic courtesy/ Hanif Patel

A retired army officer was allegedly beaten, kept captive and robbed of Rs 57 thousand along with a cab driver by a group of people in front of Neral police last week. Kishor Jadhav (60), was a warrant officer in the Indian Army and retired in 1997. He lives in Malwani Rathodi area along with his family and owns a farmhouse in the Vangni Raigad district which he often visited on weekends.

Jadhav was on his way to Matheran along with a friend in a cab on 7th March 2019. When the cab reached Neral, Irfan Sheikh, the driver spotted requested Jadhav to stop at a shrine (dargah) to offer prayers to which Jadhav agreed and the driver parked the cab at the side of the road. Around 12.30am, when Sheikh returned and started the car, another car from behind rammed their cab from the rear end.

A few men stepped out of the car and started assaulting Jadhav and Sheikh. They pulled Jadhav out from the car and assaulted him and the cab driver demanding the damage compensation for their car. One of them also snatched Jadhav's bag and took out his wallet which had Rs 15 thousand. When the Neral police were alerted, they took everybody present at the spot to the police station. "I was asked to sit in the police station and they didn't even question the goons. In fact, they supported them," alleged Jadhav.

"I don't understand why the cops helped them? I was just a passenger and had nothing to do with the incident. I was sitting at the back seat in the taxi when the car rammed into my cab from behind and I was beaten up by the goons who were in an inebriated state. They also took my wallet, ATM card and made me pay Rs 57 thousand for the damages and towing. They harassed and kept me captive for 14 hours. They threatened me stating they are influential people and would forcibly occupy my farmhouse in Raigad if the damages were not paid." Jadhav added.

According to Irfan Sheikh, when he refused to pay, they assaulted him and Jadhav. They pushed Jadhav to the ground and he fell unconscious. Sheik then called the police who arrived and took everybody to the police station.

Anil Paraskar, Superintendent of police, Raigad told mid-day, "I have not received any complaint in written form or verbally from the victim. But, I will definitely look into the matter and will take action". He also added that if the complainant contacted him directly, it will be easy for him to take swift action.

Also Read: Man gets ten years in jail for sexually assaulting girl in Gurgaon

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates