Matunga exec, friend out of jail; demand investigation to expose involvement of cops

Faqrudin Sayyed and Gopal Mooponr at home on Sunday. Pics/Bipin Kokate

After spending nine days behind bars for alleged possession of drugs and a gun, two Matunga men returned home to a rousing welcome on Sunday. Their families and friends had insisted that it was a frame-up allegedly at the behest of a drug peddler who had been stalking the fiancée of the main accused. They picked holes in the police theory through reports in mid-day.

Matunga Labour Camp resident Faqrudin Sayyed Ali and his friend Gopal Mooponr's ordeal started on November 26 after the Shahu Nagar police arrested them for allegedly possessing a box with drugs and a gun. They secured bail from a Bandra court on Saturday and were released from a Byculla quarantine centre on Sunday. The locals welcomed them with band-baja and crackers and distributed sweets.

Matunga Labour Camp locals celebrate the duo's homecoming

The duo has demanded an in-depth inquiry to expose the alleged involvement of cops who they said spoiled their careers. Sayyed had worked as an executive in a company for 8 years, but was terminated following the police case.

mid-day also came across CCTV footage showing one Naeem Qureshi with a box that was purportedly recovered from Sayyed's home. Qureshi first handed the box to the paan shop below Sayyed's home before taking it back within 12 minutes, saying he would give it to Sayyed later. The footage also shows one person with Qureshi, who was arrested following mid-day's reports.

Faqrudin Sayyed and Gopal Mooponr after their release on Sunday

Sayyed told mid-day, "On November 26, I finished work around 9 pm and went home. After some time, Gopal came to my place. We decided to go to Lalbaug to buy track pants. Just then, a policeman in civil clothes entered and asked if I was Sayyed. Suddenly, a second cop barged in and the two seized our phones. Later, another officer reached the place. He went inside and screamed ‘box mil gaya." He said he had seen the box for the first time.

"The officer opened the box that was wrapped in pink paper. It had a lock but there was no key. They began video recording the so-called raid and broke the lock. It had drugs and a gun and bullets. We were shocked at what was happening."

A warm welcome being given to the two. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Sayyed said it seemed the cops came looking for the box as they did not search the entire house. "They didn't check the locker inside the cupboard or the kitchen. They did not even seize my laptop that I was using for daily work. I strongly believe the third officer had come with the box. They told me it was found inside the shoe stand. I opened it and showed them that it was impossible to fit the box in it."

Sayyed said he kept countering their claims with logical answers which enraged the cops. "The officer told us not to teach them. In just 7-8 minutes of the raid, they broke the lock and showed us what was inside the box and took us to Shahu Nagar police."

The duo with friends at Matunga Labour Camp

Sadik, Sayyed's brother, said he met the duo the next day and was told that the police had recovered 485 grams of MD. "My brother was working in a good firm and earned Rs 70,000 a month. He doesn't even smoke and allows only close friends to enter his home. The drugs and gun allegations are false. The police also pressured Gopal to become a witness."

‘I was tortured to become a witness, but I didn't agree'

Mooponr said the police forced him to become a witness and arrested him when he refused. "I knew my friend Sayyed was innocent. The officer said they were tracking the IP address of Sayyed's laptop. They hit me on the leg with a belt like I was a criminal. We even contemplated committing suicide inside the lock-up. The police also told me that Sayyed had confessed to the crime and I had no option but to become a witness."

He continued, "At the police station, I found a similar box they use to keep cash. We demand an investigation against the four officers including PSI Sandip Sawant. Their WhatsApp messages and call records must be probed. Their chats and calls with the accused Qureshi should be checked. We strongly suspect they framed us."

Sayyed said they are relieved that they have got the bail, but it will be a hard, long journey. "Our name, reputation and career are spoiled. We are still in the police record. The police have the power to release us, but they didn't. We didn't eat anything for three days. We need justice and action against the officers including PSI Sawant."

‘Cops destroyed CCTV footage'

Their common friend Diana Fernando said they suspect someone had tampered with the CCTV cameras installed at a temple outside Sayyed's home. "It is impossible to believe their claim that suddenly the CCTV cameras went blank after November 14. The secretary of the temple said the cameras were working on November 16. We suspect they destroyed the footage."

A second friend, Parmesh Maitri said, "We have come across another CCTV installed on the same lane. The footage shows how Sayyed and Mooponr were framed in this case. It showed Qureshi carrying a bag seen moving in the same lane five to six times."

Another friend Vinayak Hubbaji said, "We will submit the CCTV footage to the police commissioner and DCP with a request to investigate this matter. The main accused, Nicolas Pandian, alias Nikki, is still not arrested."

Sayyed's fiancee and friends suspect Pandian orchestrated the episode as he wants break the Sayyed's engagement.

Main accused arrested: Cop

Pranaya Ashok, DCP of Zone 5, "Our officers found the drugs and a gun with bullets in Sayyed's home. They are not behind this incident. The main accused Naeem Qureshi has been arrested. He was an informer for the cyber department but recently he had started giving us tips. We acted on his information. Now both the men have been found innocent."

Investigation officer Sandip Sawant said they followed all the procedure before arresting the duo. "We are also checking footage from all possible CCTV cameras to track the courier boy who had got the parcel. We are also looking for him. If they got MD and a desi katta via courier then why did they keep them at home? They should have informed the police. We are checking if they have any criminal records. We are also trying to find out from where they got the MD and gun. The investigation is still on. We didn't frame them."

Advocate Nitin Satpute, who represented the duo, said, "My clients were falsely framed. Police allegedly recovered around R60 lakh rupees, MD and a gun and bullet from them. It's a huge amount of MD which can only be supplied by a supplier not a businessman and hardworking people. They don't have any links with any drug supplier. The courier boy is behind this crime."

Nov 26
Day the duo was arrested