In Gwalior, a fake thana that extorted locals, truckers

BHOPAL: The Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh has long had a reputation for guns and gangsters. Here is something very different — fake cops and a fake police station.
Vegetable vendors, sign painters and daily labourers used to don police uniforms and pretend to play cops at a phoney police station in Gwalior district, says an inquiry report. The gang not only extorted money from local residents and truckers on highways, but also entertained complaints.A surprise inspection by a senior police officer exposed this gang, and a DSP-level officer investigated the case in 2018. His report was a well-kept secret by state police until Vyapam whistleblower Ashish Chaturvedi said he got his hands on it.
“The DSP submitted his report in 2018, recommending further investigation, but nothing has been done so far. We have pictures of the fake police station and fake policemen. Labourers and painters were given fake police uniforms so that they could intimidate unsuspecting people and make money,” alleges Chaturvedi.
Narrating how the gang was busted, Chaturvedi said that a senior officer was inspecting arrangements at Gwalior Mela Ground in December 2017, when four men in khaki saluted him. “The way they saluted him raised his suspicion. He stopped and asked for their credentials. Their response shocked the officer — two of them said they were labourers, a third was a painter and the fourth a vegetable vendor,” says Chaturvedi.
It was then that SP Navneet Bhasin ordered an inquiry. “The DSP’s report is very clear. It says these four people were impersonating policemen on the directives of an inspector. The inquiry also found that the inspector was operating from a police station that did not exist on police records. The DSP concluded his report by suggesting further inquiry into extortion and corruption, but nothing happened. I am moving court to file a criminal case against those responsible,” said Chaturvedi.
TOI tried to contact the SP for his reaction but couldn’t get through.