Police Inspector Brandishes Gun in Pune Road Rage Incident, FIR Registered But Action Pending

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 2nd June 2024: A police inspector posted in the Nanded district police force has been booked for allegedly threatening a man with his service weapon after an altercation over moving vehicles ahead.

The incident occurred around 8:15 pm on May 12 on the road near Vitthal Mandir in Sutarwadi, Pashan.

Based on a complaint from a 33-year-old man, who works as a senior analyst with a finance company and resides in Sutarwadi, Chatushringi police station registered an FIR (at 1 am on May 13) against three ‘unidentified’ persons. Police investigation has revealed that it was Police Inspector Jalindar Tandale and two others were involved in the incident.

They were booked for offences under sections 3 (license for acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition) and 5 (license for manufacture, sale, etc., of arms and ammunition) of the Arms Act, and sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 34 (common intention), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 506 (2) is punishable with imprisonment up to seven years.

However, no arrest has been made in the case to date. Police officials said that an internal inquiry is ongoing.

According to the FIR, the complainant is a local resident of Sutarwadi. On May 11, he had gone with his family to Diveagar, Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar in Raigad district. “While returning home and stopping near Vithal Mandir in Sutarwadi, I stopped my car to allow my parents to exit. The driver of a four-wheeler behind my car kept honking continuously. When I asked them to wait for two minutes as I was unloading items from the car, two men and a woman emerged from the vehicle and began verbally abusing me. They accused me of thinking I was a local bigwig and threatened to teach me a lesson. As my car was parked on the side of the road and there was limited space for their vehicle to pass, they became enraged and verbally threatened me. At that moment, one of the men brandished a pistol with the intent to intimidate me. “Do you think you are a local big wig, I will teach you a lesson!”, he later concealed the pistol. Fearing for my safety, I urged them to leave, expressing my desire to avoid conflict. Subsequently, the two men and the woman departed, continuing to hurl abuse and glaring at me angrily.”

When contacted, Senior Police Inspector Ajay Kulkarni, in-charge of Chatushrungi police station, told Punekar News that nobody has been arrested in the case. “Our investigation is ongoing. We have identified the individual as Inspector Tandale, currently posted in the Nanded district. We have also reached out to the Nanded Police SP to ascertain whether Inspector Tandle had permission to carry the weapon,” Inspector Kulkarni said.

When asked about the absence of arrests in the case, he added, “We have issued notice to the inspector. As the offences are punishable by less than seven years of imprisonment, arrest is not mandatory. Additionally, an internal inquiry is being conducted.”

Speaking to Punekar News, Adv Aashutosh Srivastava said, “If this is the stand of police for not arresting an accused, then many accused in the Porsche accident case would not have been arrested.

Adv Satya Muley added, “It is most disturbing that a Police officer who is not on duty has used his weapon for threatening and causing fear in the mind of the complainant. This is nothing but illegal use of weapon allocated to the police officer by his department. The Police must immediately confiscate the pistol and make a thorough custodial inquiry or in the alternative suspend the police officer pending Police and departmental inquiry. Although the offences are bailable, as the incident involves illegal use of a weapon, it is a matter of grave concern.”

‘Default report by Nanded Police’

In a message response, Nanded Police SP Shrikrishna Kokate stated, “His default report has been forwarded for administrative lapses on duty, in addition to criminal action.”