Mumbai: The Powai police dragged their feet in arresting deceased encounter specialist Arun Borude to put up a clean image of the Mumbai police during US President Barrack Obama's visit to the city, and because of high-level contacts shielding him.
The statements came to light after a taped sting operation, which has senior inspector of Powai police station, Ashok Jadhav, stating the police was delaying Borude's arrest as they did not want to present Mumbai police in a bad light to the international audience during the Obama visit.
He is also heard accusing an assistant commissioner of police, from the same 1983 batch as Borude's, of protecting him., implying that there was pressure from superiors regarding the arrest of Borude.
In the two audio recordings (copies of which are available with MiD DAY) one, a minute long, and the other, around 2.5 minutes Jadhav is heard saying, "Had we arrested Borude during Obama's visit, Mumbai police's international image would have taken a battering."
Furthermore, he said that Borude was "hand in glove with IPS officers and other senior officials including
an ACP".
Jadhav also cites the festive season as a reason for the dilly-dallying in the arrest. "In the first week, we were busy in Diwali bandobast duties and there was no time to arrest Borude."
Borude who was accused of raping a minor employed as domestic help in his neighbourhood, was on the run for nearly 50 days before committing suicide.
His body was found near railway tracks in Srirampur in Ahmednagar district on December 29.
Expert-speak
Advocate YP Singh, who is a former IPS officer, expressed surprise that the police delayed Borude's arrest on account of a visiting head of state.
"The law clearly states that if an accused is absconding, all efforts should be made to trace them. Obama's visit was a separate issue and had no co-relation to Borude's arrest," said Singh.
He added that it was evident Borude was being protected by senior policemen as he was a part of the department.
Tainted cop
Senior Police Inspector Arun Prabhakar Borude had been dismissed from police service following allegations that he was involved in the rape of a 15-year-old house maid.
Borude had been absconding since November 9 following an FIR against him and four others on November 1 for allegedly raping the minor on several occasions between February and March last year.
The incident took place in a flat in the building 'Emerald Court' in Powai area. Borude resided with his family in the adjacent flat, which the cops had sealed after the registration of the complaint.
The incident came to light when the victim gave birth to a baby girl in October in a suburban hospital.
Having failed in getting any reprieve from court through his counsel, Borude had been on the run until December 29, 2010, when he reportedly gave up the chase and flung himself in front of an oncoming train near Srirampur railway tracks in Ahmednagar district.
The Other Side
When MiD DAY asked Senior Inspector Ashok Jadhav about his recorded comments, he said that there was no pressure from his seniors to go slow in the case. "It was the collection of evidence that was taking time. Otherwise, there was no pressure from anyone," he said. Reminded of the statements that he is heard making in the audio tapes, he said it could have been an "informal chat".
He (Borude) will walk in wearing a white shirt and black trousers and say that the complainants are beggars and will try to weaken the case.
On fearing drawing flak in the case: He (Borude) is hand-in-glove with senior IPS officers and an ACP.
Had we arrested him during US President Obama's visit, it would have given us a bad international image. And then, there was Diwali too.
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