Encounter harks back to 28-yr-old killing

Mumbai: In killing the four accused in the “Disha” rape and murder case in an “enc-ounter”, the Telangana police certainly borrowed a leaf from the Mumbai police. In 1991, a team of the Agripada police (Kalina) had similarly killed in an encounter, two men accused of raping a teenage girl.

The incident took place on April 7, 1991, when two history-sheeters identified as Bali Nandivedekar (27) and Baba Parmeshwar (28) barged into an Agripada chawl where a 13-year-old girl was playing hopscotch.

The duo followed the girl to her house, caught hold of her father, and threatened to kill both the father and daughter if their wishes were not fulfilled. The two men raped the little girl turn by turn under the influence of alcohol and opium. The incident sent shockwaves through the people of the locality and the police alike.

DCP Arup Patnaik ordered that the accused be brought to book as soon as possible. Police inspector Ambadas Pote who retired as DCP and police sub-inspector Sudhir Nirg-udkar (now senior inspector of Meghwadi) formed a team to catch the duo.

Retired DCP Pote who led the operation told The Asian Age that acting on a tip-off that Nandivedekar and Parmeshwar would visit Kalina to commit some crime, he and Nirgudkar, who volunteered to assist him, rushed to the spot and waited to nab the accused.

Sr. PI Nirgudkar told this newspaper that he could not forget the day when the accused barged into a narrow bylane of Kalina, which is currently the area near VIP gate number 8 of the airport. The accused soon realised that they were being followed by Nirgudkar who was in police attire even as the rest were in civil clothes.

Pote said, “We shouted and asked the accused to wait but they did not listen. It was a slum area and we did not want to hurt or harm anyone. Our police constable (PC) Baba Rane followed the duo only to have Nandivedekar attack him on his chest with a chopper. Rane started bleeding profusely and a few members of our team rushed him to the civic-run V.N. Desai Hospital where he received 14 stitches on his wound.”

Nirgudkar added, “As we were chasing the two of them, Parmeshwar attacked me on my shoulder with the same chopper. I got injured for which I later received four stitches. However, in retaliation, I fired a few rounds after which, Pote, too, fired a few rounds and finally, both the accused dropped dead.”