Pune: Three Police Personnel Dismissed From Service Over Hawala Money Robbery Near Bhiwandi
Pune, 18th February 2024: Three police personnel involved in a hawala money heist near Bhiwandi on March 8, 2022, have been permanently dismissed from service. The decision comes after Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region) Praveen Kumar Patil issued orders based on the findings of a departmental inquiry.
The dismissed individuals are identified as Constable Ganesh Maruti Kamble, Ganesh Balasaheb Shinde, and Dilip Maruti Pilane. All three were posted at the Dattawadi Police Station at the time of the incident. The case, registered at Narpoli police station, involved the interception and looting of a vehicle carrying hawala money, amounting to Rs 45 lakhs.
The initial suspension of Kamble, Shinde, and Pilane was followed by a departmental inquiry, where all three were found guilty of their involvement in the heist. The inquiry revealed that the dismissed personnel, who were well-acquainted due to their shared posting at the same police station and familial ties, conspired to intercept a car passing through Dive village near Bhiwandi and rob the hawala money it was carrying.
The trio, along with an accomplice named Babubhai Solanki, hatched the plan during a religious event organized by Pilane’s sister. Upon receiving information about the hawala money route from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) to Thane via Nashik, they intercepted Ramlal Parmar’s car in Dive village, identified themselves as police personnel, and confiscated Rs 45 lakhs from the vehicle.
A subsequent case of forcible theft was registered at Narpoli police station against Kamble, Shinde, and Pilane. However, as the departmental inquiry progressed, it was revealed that Kamble had feigned illness, obtained a sick pass by misleading senior officers, and committed the crime during a weekly holiday without permission. Shinde and Pilane similarly exploited loopholes in leave policies to carry out the robbery.
The departmental inquiry, overseen by Additional Commissioner of Police Praveen Kumar Patil, highlighted that the actions of the dismissed personnel had tarnished the image of the police force in society, leading to their permanent dismissal from service.
