Constable extorts Rs 3 lakh from drug consumer, arrested

Vithal Dahibavkar would trail drug peddlers and apprehend purchasers while posing as a senior officer.

A Mumbai police constable Vithal Dahibavkar, 52, attached to the Local Arms-3 force has been accused of extorting Rs 3 lakh from a drug consumer in Goregaon East on October 21. He was arrested by the Dindoshi police on Tuesday.

According to sources, the drug consumer is a 21-year-old resident of Maitri Park, Goregaon East. On October 21, he purchased cocaine worth Rs 7,000 meant to be consumed at a birthday party that night from a Nigerian drug peddler near Maitri Park. After the peddler left, the purchaser was approached by Dahibavkar who claimed to be a crime branch officer and threatened to take him to Dindoshi police station and arrest him. The complainant suggested they settle the matter and Dahibavkar demanded a R25-lakh bribe. The duo eventually settled on a Rs 3 lakh bribe. The drug purchaser arranged for the money and was let go. But a couple of days later he realised that he has been cheated and approached the police.

The exchange of money was caught on a CCTV camera, which eventually led to Dahibavkar being traced and apprehended by the Crime Branch Unit XII on Tuesday morning. Dahibavkar belongs to the 1989 batch and was attached to the LA-3 in Worli. He resides in Santacruz East with his family. He admitted that he had been taking bribes in this manner for two years. His modus operandi involved trailing Nigerian drug peddlers in auto rickshaws and 'apprehending' customers after the peddler had left. He has extorted from people in Vakola, Dindoshi and other parts of the city. "We have booked and arrested the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. He will be produced in court on Wednesday," said Senior Police Inspector Parkash Bele of Dindoshi police. "We are investigating if others are involved too."

Rs 25 lakh
Initial bribe amount demanded

Rs 3 lakh
Bribe amount Dahibavkar settled for

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