Dear Mumbaikar, dont die at these five spots in the city

Late on May 26 23yearold Neeraj Singh was walking along the Sunder Baug Lane of Kamani in Kurla with friends Tejas and Vikas Isave when a man later identified as Kamran Siddiqui snatched his phone This crime occurred in GhatkoparPowai lakes waters are governed by the Mulund police but the shore is under Powai police stationrsquos jurisdiction ImagingUday MohiteAs Siddiqui fled the scene the trio gave chase A few metres ahead the accused turned around and attacked Neeraj and Vikas with a chopper he was carrying Neeraj was killed in the incident Vikas suffered an arm injury and was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital Tejas had rushed to inform Vikas family while the incident was still on hence managed to escape injuryThough just a few meters away from the spot of the snatching and in the same lane the murder occurred technically in Sakinaka What followed is the stuff that drove the angst of the common man in the films of the 90s At 1005 am after receiving calls from the helpline see box officers from both police stations arrived at the sceneThe FIR however was registered only two hours later after officers from police stations Sakinaka and Ghatkopar decided mutually on whose jurisdiction the crime fell in It was decided that the crime which began in Ghatkopar should be registered in the same suburbOn May 23 Neeraj Singh was walking along the Sunder Baug Lane in Kurla when his cell phone was snatched As he and two friends chased accused Kamran Siddiqui they ran a few metres ahead when Siddiqui attacked Neeraj with a knife Confusion prevailed over whether the crime occurred in Ghatkopar where the phone was snatched or in Sakinaka where he was murdered How they do it Avinash Dharamadhikari senior PI of Sakinaka police station said If such a crime occurs in one police stationrsquos jurisdiction and is carried to another jurisdiction then we take a mutual decision about which police station will register the case PicsRahesh GuptaThe Ghatkopar police registered an FIR under Sections 302 murder 307 attempt to murder and 397 robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death of the IPC and Siddique was arrested two days later by the Crime Branch and handed over to Ghatkopar policeThis wasnt the first such event in the highly populated Sunder Baug Lane Naresh Tari a resident said When we have complaints we often end up shutting between Ghatkopar and Sakinaka police stations before we finally get to register a complaintCity history enthusiast Deepak Rao dates the jurisdiction concept back to the British times In those days there werent as many police stations in Bombay as there are now They were in fact called police sections The jurisdiction of each police station is very clear and defined by lampposts street dividers on the roads junctions railway tracks and the seaBut sometimes its really the question of whether your foot is on the footpath or off it Here are four more baffling locations in the city dogged by dodgy jurisdiction rulesThe footpath that separates Bandra and KharHeres the answer to the great debate where does Bandra end and its poorer neigbhour Khar begin The answer is the footpath off Waterfield Road outside Caravan Serai restaurant Interestingly the Shree Harishchandra Goyal Chowk Junction in Bandra West falls under both Bandra and Khar police stations However if an incident occurs on the footpath the case falls under Bandra police station If it unfolds on the road it heads to Khar police stationPicsSayyed Sameer AbediA police officer said that while the cops are clear about their jurisdictions confusion can occur if say a body is found with its legs on the road and the torso on the footpath Then senior officers will have to take a call I can recollect an incident of a massive fire that broke out two years ago in a commercial building located at the edge of Bandra jurisdiction and beginning of Khar He says a call came in stating that 15 to 20 people were trapped inside the buildingIt was late evening and the fire brigade was already on the job But since this is a very busy street as it connects two major markets in Bandra mdash Hill Road and Linking Road mdash we needed to control traffic and block the road with barricades to divert the traffic to other roads Both Khar and Bandra police reached the spot While the Khar police took on one end Bandra police handled the otherHow they do it Sr PI Bandra Pandit Thackeray said The priority is to reach the spot If a case is reported to us first we register the case If it is in the jurisdiction of some other police station the case can always be transferred to that police stationThe street of contention mdash Agripada and NagpadaWhile its clear that the footpath on the north side of Sakhli street marks the beginning of Nagpada police jurisdiction and the footpath on the south end of the Agripada police what remains a question mark is what happens when an untoward incident occurs on the street itself With the jurisdiction unclear on this one residents say it often takes a while before a complaint is registeredPicsShadab KhanMohammad Anas a resident of Sakhli Street said There is an ongoing civil case concerning my building and there have been instances when the police have been called to the court However they pass the buck as the jurisdiction remains unclearHow the do it Sr PI Agripada police station Ashok Sarambalkar said Ever since I have taken charge there has been no jurisdiction problem There was a case of kidnapping which occurred in the Boiwada police jurisdiction but the victim was rescued by the Agripada policeChoppy waters mdash Powai and MulundVihar Lake remains a contentious area between the two police stations While the lake and its waters fall in the control of Mulund police station about 12 kilometers from the station the surrounding area comes under the jurisdiction of Powai police For Mulund cops it takes 45 minutes to reach the spot when a call comes in regarding an incident at the lake A police officer said If for instance there is a body lying on the boundary of the lake the case comes to Mulund police station But if its entirely on land it goes to the Powai policePicsRajesh GuptaOn one morning in August 2010 32yearold Vijay Bhure was attacked by three crocodiles when he was fishing at Vihar Lake Mulund jurisdiction He was sitting on the shore Powai jurisdiction with his feet dangling in water when a crocodile attacked him dragging him into the waters which fall under the Mulund Bhure was later mauled by two more crocodiles It was an hour later that his halfgnawed body was hauled out Since he was dragged by the crocs from land into the water the Powai police registered an accidental death report in the matterHow they do it Sr PI Mulund Police Station Rajaram Vanmane said When we get a call the priority is to reach the crime scene and register the case Jurisdiction is secondaryCoastal confusion mdash Yellow Gate and ColabaUntil last week the jurisdiction of Yellow Gate Police Station extended to 1600 nautical miles making it the only police station in the whole of western India to investigate criminal cases that occurred from Gujarat to Kanyakumari Earlier this month the Home Ministry issued a gazette notification invoking the Territorial Waters in Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ and said 10 police stations located on both east and west coasts can investigate criminal offences within the EEZPicsSayyed Sameer AbediOnce a crime occurs on sea the matter is registered and investigated by the Yellow Gate Police Station Closer to the Mumbai coastline if a crime occurs between 0 to 12 nautical miles about 21 kilometers from the Colaba police station it will fall within this police stations jurisdiction Beyond that it will be investigated by the Yellow Gate police However at sea markings are fluidHow they do it A senior police official said After 2611 patrolling boats were introduced Cops are aware of the boundaries and judge them by distance from the rocks or distance of the walls from the sea If they see something suspicious cops reach the spot and proactively carry out a check The Colaba police comes into the picture when the spot of a case is near the land The senior PI at Yellow Gate Police Station Mahavir Tiwatne said Sometimes the case is discussed with seniors