Mumbai Crime: Cop who killed senior planned to kill three more

Police Sub Inspector Basavraj Garg (right) Constable Pankaj Yadav

A constable attached to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Wednesday night killed a police sub-inspector over an investigation that led to the reduction of his salary since 2019. The accused, Pankaj Yadav, 30, had decided to kill three other officers responsible for the action taken against him.

Around 11 pm, RPF cops rushed to Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan East and informed the officers there that Yadav had assaulted Police Sub-Inspector Basavraj Garg, 56, and run away. Garg had been rushed to Kalyan railway hospital but he was declared dead on arrival by doctors.

The Kolsewadi cops deployed a team to track down Yadav. The police learnt that the accused had fled towards Chiplun. The team eventually learnt that Yadav had reached Pen where he was posted. The pursuers then rushed to Pen and found Yadav hiding in a barracks. He was nabbed and brought to Kolsewadi police station.

During his interrogation, Yadav revealed the reasons behind his actions. "In 2019, PSI Garg and Constable Yadav both were attached with the Kalyan RPF. Yadav got into a fight with some subordinates, resulting in the filing of an FIR against him. PSI Garg was part of the disciplinary committee that conducted a departmental inquiry against Yadav. The panel decided to stop his increment and reduce his basic salary," said Senior Inspector M R Deshmukh of Kolsewadi police station.

Constable Pankaj Yadav had faced disciplinary action after getting into a fight with subordinates

Since then, Yadav sought to teach Garg, two other inspectors and a constable a lesson. Yadav was posted at Roha railway station, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Pen RPF police station. On Wednesday night, around 9.45 pm he arrived at the Kalyan the railway station and went directly to the barracks.

"When he found PSI Garg there, he immediately started attacking him with a bamboo stick. Yadav hit him on the chest, head and face, leaving him bleeding," said an officer. "Meanwhile, another PSI, Rakesh Kumar Tripathi, who was drying his clothes at the barracks, heard the shouts and ran towards Garg's room. He found Yadav hitting Garg who was lying on the floor in a pool of blood," he added.

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Yadav took to his heels immediately while PSI Tripathi called his subordinates to help him to take Garg to the hospital. Sachin Gunjal, DCP (Zone 3), said, "Yadav was angry and decided to get even with Garg and the others for penalising him. On Wednesday, when he came to the barracks, Yadav caught Garg unawares and started beating him. His blows proved fatal. We are awaiting the post-mortem report."

During his interrogation, Yadav told the police, due to the disciplinary committee's recommendation, his salary had been reduced and he had decided to teach each one of them the lesson of their lives.

10 pm
Approx time on Wednesday when the assault occurred