5 years, 225 arrests: Meet Mumbai's very own 'Dabangg' cop

Meet Thanersquos very own supercop mdash 50yearold Uday Raghunath Palande mdash who was singlehandedly responsible for putting a staggering 225 criminals behind bars in just five years Over the years he has come to be known as Thanersquos very own Dabangg policeman but even the most thrilling and actionpacked cop movies canrsquot match up to the story of this singular cop who hopes to hit 300 arrests soonOn Maharashtra Day yesterday Uday Palande was felicitated with the Director General of Police Insignia award at the hands of Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde for his bravery in police work PicNavneet BarhateWhile Palandersquos family hails from Khed Ratnagiri they were based in Pune where his father was an army captain with the Bombay Sappers His father had high hopes that Uday would grow up to reach even greater heights in the army but destiny had something else in mind for him ldquoMy father was my inspiration and it was because of this that I started boxing since that was a popular sport in the military circles It was this hobby that gave me a direct entry into the police force on April 2 1985 mdash when I was just 18 years oldrdquo recalled Palande who was felicitated with the Director General of Police Insignia award at the hands of Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde yesterdayWhatrsquos interesting is that Palande spent a majority of his 31year career in fairly routine postings doing administrative and beat duties at police stations or carrying out court service by escorting undertrial offenders to court There was no glamorous crimefighting in any of these postings but Palande still recognised an opportunity For over two decades he quietly cultivated an extensive network of contacts comprising historysheeters lawyers and cops ndash all of which would prove useful laterldquoDuring that period I would visit the court on a daily basis and build contacts with criminals advocates police officers and other people I learnt things like who the historysheeters were and which criminals were wantedrdquo said the 50yearoldNaturally giftedIt was thanks to this massive bank of contacts that Palande could hit the ground running when he was transferred to the Ulhasnagar Crime Branch in 2011 Not only did he get valuable tipoffs from his sources Palande had a natural gift for crime detection ndash which he proved with his very first arrest in a nearperfect murder The Mumbra police had registered a case of accidental death after a body was found in a lake but it was Palande who figured out that it was a murder after a source tipped him off see Case filesPalande similarly cracked other cases using his wits and innumerable sources and many of these were serious crimes such as murder or major robberies But solving so many crimes comes at a costldquoMy wife and kids support me a lot but they also get angry and depressed because I am rarely there for family occasions They have no idea when Irsquoll get home as I stay out for work for hours Even if my shift is over I get back to work the moment I get a call from an informantrdquo he explainedAll these years later his hard work has paid off as he is amongst the most distinguished cops in the Thane police department with even the Thane Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh giving him high praise In fact the CP appreciated his work so much he asked Palande to train other cops in the commisionerate as well In the past three months Palande has held training sessions across 34 police stations with even senior police inspectors turning up to learn tips from himldquoAs a constable I am training even officers what can be a greater achievement All the cops turn up for the lectures to learn how to build contacts and use their network to trace the accused The policemen get excited after these sessions and many even ask to help in solving casesrdquo said Palande