Mumbai: Police apathy forces 'CID' actor to play cop in real life too

Prem Kumar Tiwari, who has acted in many crime series, gave one Ajay Singh Rs 1 lakh after the latter promised to make him a film star, but it was allegedly a con trick

A reel-life investigator had to step out of his small-screen role and assume it in reality to catch the man who allegedly cheated him of Rs 1 lakh earlier this year.

Forty-year-old Prem Kumar Tiwari, who has worked in crime series such as Crime Patrol, CID, Savdhan India, etc, said the Oshiwara police’s apathetic lethargy compelled him to investigate his own case, just as he does on TV. In fact, he claimed, cops told him to tell them if he should ever trace the accused.

Prem Kumar Tiwari (left) with the lead actor of 'CID'; (right) Ajay Singh has been booked for cheating

Tiwari said he met the accused, Ajay Singh, during an audition in January 2014. Singh, a coordinator for artists, extolled him saying he looked like a hero and offered to help him become a film star through his network of directors and producers who are always looking for fresh faces. Trusting Singh’s word, Tiwari exchanged numbers with him and the duo became friends, routinely chatting over WhatsApp.

“After we became good friends, Ajay Singh asked me to meet him in Andheri one day. He told me if I wanted to be a star I should invest around R1 lakh. Since I had known him for quite some time, I gave him the money. But he revealed his real face after I asked him about the promised roles. He took me out of Mumbai to a shooting set and made excuses about how a producer had fled with the amount I had given him. I understood then that he was conning me,” Tiwari said.

“On October 3, I approached Oshiwara police station to lodge a complaint, but Assistant Police Inspector (API) S C Raut threatened me and pressurised me to stay away from Singh. I approached Police Comm-issioner Rakesh Maria and DCP Satyanarayan Chaudhary who has jurisdiction in my area, and after the latter’s order, a new officer was appointed to look into my complaint. Inspector Parmeshwar Ganme registered the FIR, but didn’t take any action,” Tiwari said.

“The Oshiwara cops kept telling me, ‘If you find Ajay Singh inform us’. I called them many times with information but they failed to catch him. Finally on Friday, I came to know that Singh was at a set shooting in Kanjurmarg, and I called the police control room and gave them my FIR number. The Kanjurmarg Police caught him and took him to Oshiwara police station. The work that cops are supposed to do, I have done,” Tiwari said.

Copspeak
Oshiwara Police was evasive over the allegations levelled against them by Tiwari.

API Raut remained unavailable for comment, while Senior Police Inspector Subhash Vele of Oshiwara Police said, “The FIR is registered against Ajay Singh under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 506 (II) (criminal intimidation), but let me check about the allegation which Prem Kumar Tiwari is making against my officers.”

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