Thane: Sanjay Pandey, former Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP), on Wednesday recorded his statement in an extortion case filed against him and six others by businessman Sanjay Punamiya.
The ex-top cop, who has also served as the Mumbai police chief, remained at the Thane crime branch (unit 5) office in the Wagle Estate area for three hours. Thane Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amar Singh Jadhav, said, “Pandey came to the office at 1 pm and left around 4 pm.”
Mumbai: Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey appeared before Thane Crime Branch for questioning. He faces allegations of filing false cases against officers during his tenure as Director General of Police. The investigation is being conducted at Crime Branch Unit 5 pic.twitter.com/TmJDmD7U3M
— IANS (@ians_india) December 11, 2024
About The Case
Based on Punamiya's complaint, a case was registered at the Thane Nagar police station on August 26. The businessman has been named in two FIRs registered during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government's tenure when Pandey was first the DGP. Punamiya claimed to have faced “significant troubles” at the hands of the accused between May 2021 and June 30, 2024. Besides the retired DGP, the FIR has named exACP Sardar Patil, Inspector Manohar Patil, Advocate Shekar Jagtap, builder Shyamsunder Agrawal and two others – Subham Agrawal and Sharad Agrawal.
According to the complaint, the accused were unlawfully involved in the investigation into a 2016 crime case registered with the Thane Nagar police. They also threatened the complainant and other businessmen with false cases, extorted money and prepared fabricated documents, while posing as a special public prosecutor to mislead courts, it said.
“In this case, he had approached the Thane Sessions Court, where his bail was rejected. Subsequently, he moved the Bombay High Court and received protection until January 3,” said Jadhav. The Crime Branch has not arrested any person so far.