Filmmaker, accused of registering fake FIR, was held on Tuesday.
Filmmaker, accused of registering fake FIR, was held on Tuesday.
Filmmaker Barun Kashyap, who was arrested by the Amboli police in Chembur around 10.30 am on Tuesday, has alleged that assistant police inspector Daya Nayak threatened him into changing his statement. Kashyap is accused of registering a suspected false FIR accusing gau rakshaks of threatening him for using a cowhide bag. He will be produced before the Andheri court on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon, in whose car Kashyap was at the time of his arrest, alleged that Kashyap was forced to change his statement under pressure from Mr Nayak and Bharat Gaikwad, a senior inspector of the Amboli police station. She also said that she would apply for Kashyap’s bail on Wednesday. Mr Gaikwad, commenting on the incident, said, “We have enough evidence against Kashyap.”
The police brought Kashyap to the Amboli police station along with Ms Menon’s driver for his verification. Later, the police verified the driver’s identity and released him. However, Ms Menon claimed that the process had been completed around 1.30 pm, but officials did not bother to produce Kashyap in court and delayed matters to keep him in the custody over Tuesday night.
Also, she released a press statement in which Kashyap alleged that on September 30, the police had called him to narrate the sequence of events of August 19, when the entire incident allegedly took place. “They told me to change my version (to make it look like) only the autorickshaw wala was heckling me and that no other men joined him. He asked me to write that I had straight way taken an auto to my office,” the statement reads. “Nayak had threatened to ruin my career,” alleged Kashyap.
Rejecting Ms Menon’s claims, Mr Gaikwad, said, “All allegations against the police are baseless. We have strong evidence and we arrested him on their basis.”
According to Ms Menon, as Kashyap approached her for help after which she prepared the statement that she released on Tuesday.
“Kashyap was going to give the written statement to our lawyer and was planning to approach commissioner when Nayak picked him up on Tuesday,” said Ms Menon. When contacted, Mr Nayak said he had no comment to offer.
The police on Saturday, the police lodged an FIR against Kashyap under sections 153A and 182 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with promoting enmity and using lawful power of a public servant to injure or annoy any person.
Speaking to The Asian Age, Ms Menon alleged, “Around 4 pm, the police took Kashyap near the Andheri court, but instead of taking him inside, they wasted time roaming around. “After I insisted they take him to court, they went to the Andheri police station. I feel they wanted to keep Kashyap in their custody the whole night.”
A police officer, however, said the police didn’t plan to produce him in court on Tuesday as it wanted to keep him in its custody for investigation.
“As far as taking him to Andheri is concerned, our jail is situated there. As per the rules, we can’t keep him in our custody at night so we took him there,” he said.
