The Bombay High Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to three suspended Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel accused of threatening and extorting ₹30,000 from a jeweller and his daughter at Mumbai Central railway station last month.
Justice Nitin R. Borkar, while hearing the pleas of officers Rahul Bhosale, Lalit Jagtap, and Anil Rathod, accepted the defence’s argument that the allegations appeared “over-exaggerated.” The court ordered that, in the event of arrest, the trio be released on personal bonds of ₹25,000 each. It also directed them not to contact witnesses and to cooperate with the investigating officer during the week.
The FIR, registered on the complaint of a Rajasthan-based jeweller, alleged that on August 10 the officers stopped him and his daughter before their departure to Rajasthan. During a bag check, they reportedly found ₹31,900 in cash and a 14-gram gold piece.
The jeweller claimed that he was taken inside a room, threatened with jail time, and forced to sign a document. While the gold and ₹1,900 were returned, the remaining ₹30,000 was allegedly taken by the policemen. He lodged a complaint five days later, after reaching his hometown, and the case was subsequently transferred to the Mumbai police.
The prosecution highlighted several lapses, including the officers’ failure to record the search in the station register or conduct it under CCTV surveillance, as required by procedure. Instead, the search was allegedly carried out behind closed doors.
Earlier, a sessions court had dismissed their anticipatory bail pleas. Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Kale observed that custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the truth and that granting relief at that stage would provide the accused with a sense of protection.
