01 June,2012 06:28 AM IST | | Akela
It appears that Assistant Commissioner of Police (Social Service branch) Vasant Dhoble believes in flexing his muscle at every possible occasion. Just days after an inquiry was set up against Dhoble for attacking a juice centre owner with a hockey stick, he is back in the news for allegedly slapping a bar manager.
On the night of May 27, more than 12 men dressed in plain clothes entered M-Zone bar at Dahipada, Borivli (East). The men started abusing the bar workers and also tried to rob the bar of its cash. Suspecting them to be thieves, the workers questioned them and a fistfight broke out at the establishment.
The bar workers claim that among the 12 men who barged in to the bar, only two were police officials in plain clothes. "We suspected them to be thieves, as they began to attack my workers. In retaliation, my workers also assaulted them," said Rakesh Pareda, bar manager. After the violence at the bar, the workers approached Kasturba Marg police station and tried to register a complaint against the cops. However, an hour passed but the authorities failed to lodge a complaint. "We kept waiting there in hopes that our complaint would be filed, but no action was taken. Then all of a sudden Dhoble arrived at the police station and thrashed me," said Pareda adding, "He came over to me and said, âHow dare you register a complaint against my team?' and before I could answer, Dhoble assaulted me."
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High-handedness
Pareda further claimed that the Kasturba police did not register his complaint and in fact, filed a complaint against him, another manager Haresh Gowda, and two waiters Suresh Pujari and Kumar Gowda under Section 353, 332 of the Indian Penal Code. They were then produced in court the next day and were granted bail of Rs 5,000 each.u00a0
The other side
Despite repeated attempts to contact ACP Vasant Dhoble, he remained unavailable for comment, as his phone was switched off. Meanwhile, Nisar Tamboli, spokesperson of the Mumbai police, said, "I have not received any complaint against Dhoble till now. The bar owner's claims are false. The police cannot touch his cash counter. They are innocent." u00a0