Extortion case: Bombay HC grants pre-arrest bail to DCP Saurabh Tripathi

The Bombay High Court granted pre-arrest bail to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Saurabh Tripathi in the angadiya (traditional couriers) extortion case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Saurabh Tripathi in the angadiya (traditional couriers) extortion case.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bharati Dangre noted that Tripathi had cooperated with the investigation and charge sheet in the case already filed by the police.

Tripathi had approached the high court after a sessions court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.

The LT Marg police, in south Mumbai, on February 19 registered an FIR in connection with the extortion case, in which four policemen, including Tripathi, an IPS officer of the 2010 batch, were named as accused.

An inspector, an assistant inspector and a sub-inspector attached to LT Marg police station were arrested in the case. They are out on bail now.

A complaint filed last December by the Angadiya Association in south Mumbai alleged that Tripathi demanded Rs 10 lakh per month from them as a bribe to allow them to run their business smoothly.

Angadiyas are traditional couriers who deliver cash sent by traders from one state to another. Angadiya system is by and large used in the jewellery business.

Tripathi in his plea claimed innocence and false implication by the then Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey with a prejudiced mind and vendetta for not heading the Special Investigation Team against ex-Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh.

"The investigating agency is relying upon the statements of Angadiya operators and their agents in order to falsely implicate the Applicant (Tripathi). It is important to note that the said angadiya operators / their agents were already holding grudge against the Applicant as the Applicant was not letting them conduct their illegal activities smoothly and repeatedly refused their attempts to bribe him," the plea stated.

According to the police, the three officers had illegally detained some angadiya businessmen from the Bhuleshwar area in south Mumbai for four days and extorted money under the pretext of taking action against them and threatened to inform the Income Tax department about their business transactions.