29 October,2016 08:20 AM IST | | Anurag Kamble
The team of officers who arrested one of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused in 2008 is still waiting for their promised reward by the CBI
Constable Shinde is seeking the reward on behalf of his team
It's a new low when brave officers have to run pillar to post to claim a reward for doing their job. Try this for size: Eight years after cops from the Mumbai police crime branch unit arrested the accused of the 1993 blast, they are still awaiting their promised reward from the administration. One such constable is Dilip Shinde, attached to the Local Arms division, Naigaon, who has been chasing the Rs 5 lakh unicorn - of which his share stands at Rs 50,000 - since last year by following the document trail via an RTI plea.
Reward saga
After Karimullah Khan aka KK was nabbed, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced the reward. To that end, then joint commissioner Rakesh Maria wrote a letter to the CBI and claimed the prize money. However, there was no response from them. Later, all the joint commissioners wrote to CBI, but it yielded no result, said constable Shinde, adding, "When he took charge of the commisionerate, Maria sir again attempted to check on the status of the reward, but hit a wall. So I decided to write to the CBI directly."
A glimmer of hope, dashed
In August 2016, though, the CBI finally asked the crime branch to hand over a list of officers and constables who were involved in the operation. A crime branch official said, "We have informed the CBI that about 21 officers and constables were in the operation, but now again there is no reply from them. It's really discouraging as since 2008, every joint commissioner and commissioner has written letters to CBI to check on the status. It has become like a ritual now."
When asked, Maria said, "The proposal was submitted. Will follow up the case with CBI."
