Pune dowry death: State seeks report on cop facing allegations of shielding Hagawanes

Special inspector general (prisons) Jalindar Supekar denied the allegations, saying he was “a distant relative” of the Hagawanes

Mumbai: The Maharashtra home department, headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has asked the additional director general (jails) to investigate allegations that the special inspector general (prisons), Jalindar Supekar, tried to shield the accused in the Vaishnavi Hagawane dowry harassment-suicide case. Supekar is the uncle of Vaishnavi’s husband, Shashank.

Pune dowry death: State seeks report on cop facing allegations of shielding Hagawanes

Vaishnavi, the daughter-in-law of expelled Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rajendra Hagawane, died by suicide on May 16 at her marital home in Pimpri-Chinchwad, near Pune. Her family has alleged that she was tortured by her husband’s family for dowry, which included demands of ₹2 crore. The police have already arrested Rajendra Hagawane and his son Sushil in the case.

Following the incident, social activist Anjali Damania alleged that Supekar was protecting the Hagawane family. Supekar has denied the allegations, saying he was “a distant relative” of the Hagawanes.

However, after the case sparked significant public and political outrage, the state home department has stepped in and demanded an inquiry into the allegations. “I have received the papers sent by Damania [in support of her allegations],” said Radhika Rastogi, additional chief secretary (appeals and security) in the home department. “I have asked the additional director general of jails, Suhas Warke, to investigate the matter and send a report to me.”

When contacted, Warke said that he is yet to receive any communication from the state home department.

Sources said Rastogi has also requested Fadnavis to relieve Supekar from the additional charge given to him as the deputy inspector general of the Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Nagpur divisions of the jail department, as the accused members of the Hagawane family are likely to end up in one of the jails soon.

This was after Damania demanded Supekar be stripped of his additional charge as the Hagawane family would soon be in judicial custody and he “may give them favours”. She also said that Supekar was given the additional charge despite an alleged ₹500-crore scam in the purchase of ration and other materials for prisons in the state.

Addressing a press conference last week, Damania had also alleged that Supekar had helped the Hagawanes get arms licences. “Supekar had also helped Nilesh Chavan, a friend of Hagawane, get an arms licence even when there was a case against him. This must be fully investigated,” she had said.

Damania also claimed that Ashok Sadre, a police sub-inspector who died by suicide in 2015, had accused Supekar of sending him to collect extortion money.

Responding to the allegations, Supekar condemned the acts of the Hagawanes and said he hadn’t been in contact with them for the last two months. He also flatly denied that he had any role to play in getting them arms licences.

On the Sadre suicide case, Supekar told HT that the state crime investigation department, which investigated the case, had found him innocent. Regarding the prison procurement scam, he said the total purchases were worth ₹350 crore and not ₹500 crore. He added that there were officers above him and he was not to be blamed.