Nagpur: In one of the most high profile political-police-gangster nexus, an old case of extortion and kidnapping a cloth trader has come to hound a prominent Congress leader also a former state minister, Nagpur’s former Commissioner of Police Ankush Dhanvijay, dreaded gangster Santosh Ambekar along with the then police inspectors at Zaripatka and Tehsil police stations – Rajesh Unaune and Sudhir Nandanwar respectively and over a dozen of accused including Dr Ghanshyam Mundra, DCP Zone I Gittikhadan and DCP Zone III Kotwali Mahal for their alleged involvement in the case.
Hearing a petition in this case, Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court had issued notices to all of them including the State Government in November last year and asked them to file reply by December 12, 2015. The orders were given by HC bench of Justice BP Dharmadhikari and Justice VM Deshpande. However the respondents had sought time till January and may present their reply in coming days, as informed by petitioner’s lawyer Kaushal Rajnikant Trivedi who had appealed for CBI inquiry, on the grounds that former minister and police officer of IPS rank are allegedly involved into this high profile matter.
The petition filed in October 2011, alleged that all the mentioned respondents conspired to grab land from the petitioner Ravish Chandrakumar Chouriya, resident of Teen Nal chowk in Gandhibagh and also kidnapped and threatened him for extortion.
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Thursday 13 March 2025
Trivedi informed that the case dated back to March 2011 with an attempt to forcefully grab a piece of land owned by Chouriya, a cloth merchant having shop in Itwari, who also has interest in real estate business. The plot is located at mouza Nari in Zaripatka area. Gangster Ambekar, at the behest of other accused allegedly encroached upon the said land against which Chouriya lodged an FIR at Zaripatka police station. The case (crime no.100/2011) was then investigated by the then Zaripatka Police Inspector Rajesh Unaune.
Later on March 31, 2011, Chouriya was allegedly kidnapped at the gun point and taken to the bungalow of Santosh Ambekar, the petition alleged. Chouriya also lodged the complaint at Tehsil police station where PI Sudhir Nandanwar investigated the case. (FIR no.84/11). Chouriya was so threatened after the incident that he had to shut the shop since that day itself.
Later Chouriya learnt about the involvement of the then Commissioner of Police Ankush Dhanvijay Singh and the Congress Minister. Upon knowing this starting fact Chouriya communicated the matter to the then Principal Secretary, Home, Praveen Dikshit. When series of his communications went unanswered Chouriya again made communication to the Home Minister of Maharashtra in the same year and tried to apprise him about the involvement of these two high profile people along with Ambekar, to pressurise him.
Meanwhile Chouriya’s lawyer Trivedi found that the chargesheet mentioned that gun used for kidnapping was actually a cigarette lighter gun. He also discovered that the investigation officer also filed chargesheet without conducting any investigation parade.
