The Bombay High Court on Friday questioned the police regarding the material it had against IPS officer Saurabh Tripathi and if it was planning to file a chargesheet against him in the alleged Angadia extortion case.
The court questioned the state while hearing a petition by Tripathi seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him. Prosecution has alleged that Tripathi demanded Rs10 lakh every month from the Angadia Association to allow them to run their business.
Tripathi’s advocate Sanjeev Kadam submitted before a bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Neela Gokhale that there is no material against the IPS officer and that he has not even been named in the FIR, hence no chargesheet has been filed against him. The only indictment against him is that he did not supervise properly, Kadam said. The police are yet to file a chargesheet in the case.
Along with Tripathi, his brother-in-law Ashutosh Mishra, who is a sales tax assistant commissioner, has also been accused of being involved in an extortion case. They both have approached the HC seeking quashing of the FIR. The HC has kept the pleas for hearing on October 4.
The police had registered a case against police inspectors Om Wangate, Nitin Kadam and assistant inspector Samadhan Jamdade at LT Marg police station on February 18, 2022 following a complaint by Bhuleshwar Angadia Association. It alleged that some policemen from LT Marg police station started confining angadias in the police station and forcibly took away some cash from their bags. The angadias met Tripathi, who was then posted as Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone Two. They complained about the conduct of the police officers but it is alleged that he didn't act and instead demanded Rs 10 lakh for the smooth running of their business.
The State government suspended Tripathi in March 2022. He was found absent from duty without informing the authorities. The high court granted him pre-arrest bail on November 15, 2022. The State government then revoked his suspension and reinstated him in July 2023.
At present, he is posted as Superintendent of Police with the state intelligence department.
