Tribal women assault: Vasai cop suspended; protesters demand FIR against him

Assistant Police Inspector Vinod Wagh. File pic

Assistant Police Inspector (API) Vinod Wagh, accused of assaulting six tribal women on suspicion of them being pickpockets in Vasai, has been finally suspended. Protesters and people who supported the victims have demanded an FIR against him. Confirming Wagh's suspension, zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sanjay Kumar Patil said, "A departmental enquiry (DE) has been initiated against him."

Baby Narayan Wavre, one of the six victims, whose left arm turned blue after she was caned by Wagh, said, "Accha hua. He had unnecessarily harassed us. Many poor tribal people return home from work late in the evening, and if he remains in power, he will continue to assault the tribals. It is very good that he has been stripped of his power, which he misused to assault us."

A protest demanding the suspension of the API. File pics/Hanif Patel

Sheru Wagh, the Vasai taluka secretary of the Marxist-Leninist Party of India (Red Flag), said Wagh must be booked for assaulting tribal women. "He had forcefully bundled these tribal women in an auto and then dragged them to Papdi police chowkie. It clearly shows his high-handedness and gross misuse of his official power,"
said Sheru.

‘Book him for molestation'

"Today he has been suspended, but he will be reinstated a few months later and he will again misuse his power. Since Day 1, we have been demanding that police book him under Section 354 (molestation) of the IPC and the provisions of the Atrocities Act," said Sheru.

Four of the six tribal women assaulted allegedly by API Wagh

"The suspension will not serve the purpose. A case must be registered against him for assaulting the tribal women for no reason. Senior police officers must set an example, as an FIR against Wagh will work as a deterrent to other policemen and it will prevent them from misusing their official power. Justice should be given to the tribal women," activist Santosh Tumbada of Shramjeevi Sanghathan told mid-day. The matter came to light after his intervention in the matter. Thereafter, Wagh was transferred to the police control room and an enquiry was called.

Attempts to protect him

Sources at Vasai police station, where Wagh was posted, told mid-day that police were trying to bury the incident as false statements of vegetable vendors were recorded to safeguard him. "Everyone knows how arrogant he [Wagh] is. The vendors were arm-twisted to give statements that they did not see anyone being assaulted by API Wagh. It was done to safeguard him as he is a senior police officer and the seniors did not want his annual confidential report to get maligned over this," said a source.

"But the pressure mounted on seniors to suspend him and finally he was suspended on Saturday. Now, his promotion will be very difficult," the source added. The source said that Wagh was promoted as an API from a sub-inspector a few months ago. "He had previously worked with Nagpur police and the CID in Mumbai," said the source. Senior BJP leader Chitra Wagh said, "I will speak to the DCP to know why an FIR has not been filed yet."

Wagh had picked up Taru Dokphode, Sonam Bhoir, Sita Bhoir, Vimal Punjhara, Deepika Wavre and Baby Wavre on November 19 afternoon while they were shopping in the Vasai market. He took them inside Papdi police chowkie, bolted the door from inside, caned and verbally abused them for about 30 minutes. Calls and messages to API Wagh went unanswered.