Did senior IPS officers help Mumbai constable Kalokhe?

The investigation into the arrest of the police constable, who was caught with 110 kg of mephedrone by Satara police, gets murkier. It appears that the arrested cop, Dharmaraj Kalokhe, has been protected by senior IPS officers in the department, most likely for their own benefit.

According to sources, not only was Kalokhe's transfer from Marine Drive police station stopped in the past, when the Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) recently approached an IPS officer stating they have clear evidence that the accused is carrying large consignments of drugs, he refused to give the go ahead, and asked the cell to conduct the raid after few days.

Constable Kalokhe, who has been working at the Marine Drive police station for the last six years, was arrested on Monday by Satara police, along with 110 kg mephedrone, better known as MD or ‘meow meow' on the streets. The accused was working as a mill special, gathering intelligence from the police station's jurisdiction.

According to police, Kalokhe had taken 10 days leave, saying he had to complete a few final rites of his father who had died six months back. Instead, he left with his girlfriend, a drug peddler from Worli, to Goa for a drug deal. However, the deal failed and Kalokhe found out that cops are searching for him as well.

The Satara police arrested him when he was about to shift the entire consignment from his residence. Sources from the police department told mid-day that Kalokhe was extremely close to one IPS officer. "He would do all the work for the IPS officer, including his personal work," said the source, adding that last year in August, Kalokhe was being transferred to Malabar Hill, what was considered a less active post.

The constable asked the IPS officer to stop the transfer, which he did. "The role of this officer is highly suspicious and it would not be shocking if he was aware about Kalokhe's drug dealing," said the source. What's more, when Kalokhe was arrested on Monday, another senior IPS officer from south zone reached Marine Drive police station the same night to check the constable's locker.

According to insiders, he even tried to break the locker, but was unsuccessful and had to leave as reporters and cops had reached the police station. The next day the raid was conducted in the presence of two witnesses when cops recovered 12 kg of mephedrone.

Scapegoat?
In his statement, Kalokhe has told the police that senior police officials are making him a scapegoat. He claims that he had simply accompanied the female drug peddler to Goa, she had trapped him. The constable also blames the woman for keeping the drugs in his house. Investigating cops have rubbished his allegations.