Constable Dharmraj Kalokhe, who was caught with 122 kg of the banned narcotic, made the startling claim that he was being framed in the case while the kingpins of the racket senior police and Customs officers sat pretty in their AC offices
In a shocking claim, the Marine Drive police constable arrested with 110 kilograms of mephedrone (aka meow meow and MD) said yesterday that he is merely a foot soldier in a countrywide drug syndicate and that the generals are still sitting in air-conditioned offices.
He said that senior police and Customs officers are running the racket and are nearly untouchable because they are very influential. Dharmraj Baburao Kalokhe, 52, a resident of D B Marg police lines, who was attached to the Marine Drive police station as a mill special (intelligence gatherer), made these claims to reporters when he was being escorted out of the Killa Court, where he was produced in connection with the case.
“I have been framed by senior officials. I can’t reveal their names as they are very influential people,” he claimed. Kalokhe, who had a good service record and enjoyed the blessings of his seniors as he was good at his work, was arrested by the Satara police on March 9 with 110 kilogram of MD from his native place in Kanheri, Satara.
He had kept the mephedrone bags at his friend Jagganath Pawar’s house and promised to pay him Rs 10,000, The Marine Drive police had later received a tip-off that 11.8 kg of meow meow was stashed in his locker at the police station. “We got Kalokhe’s custody from the Satara police on Tuesday and have got his police custody till April 1,” said an officer from Marine Drive police station.
Inspector Vijay Darekar, who once worked with Kalokhe, is investigating the case and officials say their main job at the moment is to interrogate him properly as he is not cooperating. “Kalokhe is not co-operating with the investigators and knows the tactics of avoiding police investigations,” the officer added.
Deflection tactics
Kalokhe’s lawyer Naveen Chomal told media persons outside the Killa Court that the name of an additional commissioner of police had cropped up in the Satara police’s interrogation of Kalokhe and that he may be involved in the racket.
Sources, however, claimed that Kalokhe’s lawyer, who had got a date of March 27 to argue the matter, may be trying to throw the police off the scent by dragging in the name of the Addl CP, who may have nothing to do with the case. The Addl CP also told reporters he had never seen Kalokhe and knew nothing about the matter.
Baby still missing
Police sources said a crucial piece in the puzzle, in the form of Baby Patankar alias Shashikala, is still missing. They said that she had been in a relationship with Kalokhe for 15 years and the couple travelled together to Goa, Ratnagiri, Chiplun and Sawantwadi.
Satara police claimed that Baby was the one who had bought the consignment of mephedrone from a Customs officer from Sahar airport, who is now under the scanner. “Only after Baby is arrested will several things become clearer, including where the drugs came from and who was the intended recipient,” said a police officer from Marine Drive police station.
The Satara police have seized Tata Manza, Maruti Swift and two bikes belonging to Baby as they were allegedly used by her to move the drug consignment.
