Mumbai police suspends Chunabhatti police station's senior inspector after initial probe; case with Vishaka Committee
Deepak Pagare
The senior Police Inspector (PI) of Chunabhatti Police station, Deepak Pagare, has been suspended after a woman Assistant Police Inspector (API) accused him of sexual harassment at workplace. The suspension came after an initial enquiry into the API's complaint to the Commissioner of Police (CP) Sanjay Barve this week.
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"The matter has been referred to the Vishaka Committee of Mumbai police to enquire into the allegations. Further action will be taken once the committee submits its report. The suspension was based on an initial enquiry," a senior IPS officer told mid-day.
According to sources, the woman API was continuously harassed, including at the workplace, by the senior PI. The API warned him first but when he did not stop, she reached out to the CP with a complaint letter.
Pagare, however, claimed that the allegations were a result of him reprimanding the API. "I have been in the police force for 30 years. One can check my records to see what kind of a person I am. I have been suspended without enquiry. The order I received just told me that I have been suspended because of sexual harassment claims. But no one talked or listened to me about what happened," Pagare told mid-day.
Pagare claimed that the woman API was not doing her duty properly. "There were two diary entries made against her for not disposing of a case while she was on night duty. Once when the local Deputy Commissioner of Police visited the police station, she was not present. I made a diary entry against her as per the rules. She then confronted me saying she will approach the CP against me. I had informed my superiors about it last week. She approached the CP on Monday and I received the suspension order on Tuesday. I did not do anything wrong, the entire police station is with me," he added.
Both the woman API and Pagare were posted to Chunabhatti police station three months ago. Pagare was earlier posted with the traffic department, before which he was the senior PI of Shivaji Nagar police station.
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