11 policemen suspended after security lapses in Kalyan court premises

Nine of the 11 police personnel were suspended after a private security guard of an under-trial accused was found roaming in the court premises with his firearm

MUMBAI: Eleven personnel from the Thane city police have been suspended for their alleged carelessness in connection with two separate security lapse incidents at the Kalyan sessions court on December 21, officials said.

11 policemen suspended after security lapses in Kalyan court premises

Nine of the 11 police personnel were suspended after a private security guard of an under-trial accused was found roaming in the court premises with his firearm. The remaining two police personnel were suspended after an accused in a murder case hurled his slipper towards the judge.

Atul Zende, deputy commissioner of police, Kalyan, issued orders to suspend the 11 police personnel, including a police sub-inspector, as their acts reflected carelessness and lack of vigilance, officials said. The decision was taken to improve security at court premises and prevent such incidents in the future, officials added.

In the first incident, a man was seen standing with a gun outside a judge’s chamber. When some lawyers asked him to leave, he allegedly refused. The police then asked him to leave, but he was later found roaming on every floor of the court building.

The man eventually left the court premises after he realised someone was shooting a video of him. When the police quizzed him, he said he was the private bodyguard of Mahesh Bhoir, an under-trial accused. According to the police, bringing firearms and any kind of weapons to the court premises is strictly prohibited.

In the second incident, a murder accused, Kiran Santosh Bharam, hurled his slipper at additional sessions judge RG Waghmare during his hearing. The slipper did not hit Waghmare and landed on the wooden platform of the judge’s front desk.

Bharam, who hurled the slipper when the judge asked the police to take him away, has been lodged in Kalyan’s Adharwadi Jail for the last four years.