Cop assault by MLAs: Wait for CCTV footage to get longer

The Mumbai crime branch’s wait for the crucial CCTV footage on the attack on police sub-inspector Sachin Suryavanshi in the Vidhan Bhavan premises seems to be never-ending.

The Mumbai crime branch’s wait for the crucial CCTV footage on the attack on police sub-inspector Sachin Suryavanshi in the Vidhan Bhavan premises seems to be never-ending.

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Even a week after the March 19 incident, the unit 1 of the crime branch has not been able to procure the footage from the Vidhan Bhavan. While senior crime branch officials refused to comment on the delay, sources said that with Friday being a public holiday, the police may have to wait for a few more days to get the footage.

According to sources, the crime branch will issue notices to some more MLAs identified by Suryavanshi for questioning. However, senior officials did not confirm the same.

Meanwhile, IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh slammed the police for its failure in procuring the CCTV footage of the attack. “It seems the police are living on the mercy of those who had assaulted their man,” Singh said.

He said that under section 157 of the CrPC, the investigating officer of the case should have immediately seized the incriminating evidence and arrested the culprits.

Senior officials claimed that the investigations in the case had slowed down as they were treading cautiously. The crime branch had earlier arrested MLAs Kshitij Thakur (Bahujan Vikas Aghadi) and Ram Kadam (MNS), who are now out on bail. Both the witnesses and the arrested MLAs have failed to give any vital clues on the incident.