MUMBAI, 12 March 2008 — The Maharashtra government has suspended Mumbai’s top cop and senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Bipin Bihari and 12 other policemen who falsely implicated builder Rajesh Chaturvedi in a criminal case. The state director general of police, Anami Roy, confirmed the development yesterday.
Bihari, who has the rank of special inspector general of police and is currently posted as director (vigilance and security) of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, was suspended along with one senior police inspector, two assistant police inspectors, four police sub inspectors, one assistant sub inspector and four constables.
The suspensions were ordered on the recommendation of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that is investigating the case of Chaturvedi.
The builder was accused of hatching a conspiracy to murder a rival, Laxmikant Shah, over a dispute arising out of a Slum Rehabilitation Authority project in the Kala Chowkie area of the city. Police told a court that the case was a frame-up. The case was then handed over to the CID for investigation. During the course of investigation, the CID submitted a report to the government indicating that the case was indeed a frame-up and senior officers were involved.
