Police persistence helped blow lid off scandal

PUNE: It was a seemingly routine day for constable Ramesh Gadekar at the Senadutta police chowky in Navi Peth when three college girls walked in around 3 pm on Tuesday.
The girls, who had stayed in a rented room at Navi Peth for just a week, wanted to lodge a complaint against their landlord who, they said, had refused to refund their security deposit.
However, it was Gadekar''s alertness and suspicion that there was more to the story than met the eye which led to the unearthing of the webcam scandal allegedly involving a 55-year-old voyeur, Mohan Kulkarni.
"The girls had complained that their landlord was not returning the security deposit.
Though this appeared a routine case, I was suspicious about their abrupt decision to move out, as they had rented the accommodation just 10 days ago," Gadekar said.
Upon quizzing the girls further, what emerged was a case that shocked the conservative Navi Peth area and the city as a whole.
The girls said that they suspected their landlord, Kulkarni, was secretly filming their activities through a webcam planted near the tubelight.
"The girls thought they were being filmed as they saw the glint of the webcam one day when there was no power supply. They claimed that they later saw a camera like contraption close to the tubelight," he added.
Gadekar then tipped off his superiors at the Vishrambagh police station.
Assistant police commissioner (ACP) Bharati Kurhade and senior inspector Arjun Sakunde from the Vishrambagh police station were also informed about the development.
They in turn, dispatched sub-inspector (PSI), Nilam Bhagat, from the Mandai police chowky as the case was of a sensitive nature and a woman officer needed to be involved.
"The girls were not ready to open up and explain further, but I managed to ferret out the truth. I spoke to the girls, who were studying for their civil services exams, about their responsibility as citizens.
"How can society uncover evils if citizens are unwilling to speak out against injustice," Bhagat said.
"This convinced the girls and they were forthcoming with details. We launched an investigation, searched the hostel and confiscated the cameras and other equipment," Bhagat added.
For Gadekar, this is his first high-profile and sensitive case in his 18 years in the police service.
"It is the job of policemen to be alert like Gadekar. This can help expose many crimes in society," said senior police inspector Sakunde, who is leading the investigations.