30-year-old says he couldn’t land jobs, expresses gratitude to lawyer who helped prove his innocence; Shelke claimed that his seniors were running an extortion racket, threatening to involve the police whenever anyone was caught throwing garbage at Marine Drive
(From left) Somnath Shelke, advocate Sunil Pandey, and the tattoo artist’s father, Nanaso Shelke, at the Esplanade court in Fort. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A 30-year-old tattoo artist, Somnath Nanaso Shelke, who was allegedly framed by his seniors in an extortion case six years ago, when the youth had just begun dispensing his duties as a clean-up marshal of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has been acquitted by the Esplanade court.
Shelke claimed that his seniors were running an extortion racket, threatening to involve the police whenever anyone was caught throwing garbage at Marine Drive. However, when a group allegedly targeted by his seniors complained to the Marine Drive police, his colleagues allegedly framed him to save themselves, leading to Shelke’s arrest.
A Vidyavihar resident and the son of a retired BEST employee, Shelke completed his HSC in Science but quit studying to be an engineer in his third year. mid-day has exposed extortionist clean-up marshals. In 2021, during the height of the COVID pandemic, this reporter got himself employed as a marshal through an agency, and after working for five days at Vakola, Santacruz, witnessed how his ‘peers’ were extorting maskless pedestrians.
Youth speaks
Recounting what happened in 2019, Shelke told mid-day, “For a week, I was posted at Marine Drive for training. I didn’t have a fine book. My job was only to observe what my seniors were doing. Within just three days, I realised they were looting people. If anyone threw anything, they would stop them, take a photo, and threaten them. The fine was Rs 200, but they would demand between Rs 500 and Rs 3000.”
“On September 19, 2019, a senior, Santosh Ashok Shinde, and three colleagues, caught a group throwing wrappers on the road. They told the litterers that were police officers and that the offence carried a fine of Rs 3500. When the victims said they had no money, they checked their pockets, took Rs 3500 and fled. I was also at Marine Drive with a separate clean-up crew.”
“In this matter, the Marine Drive police registered an FIR against Shinde and arrested him. However, he named me as his colleague, and two days later, I was arrested as well. I told the police I was innocent. But the police didn’t listen and arrested me. In 2021, the police filed the charge sheet. I applied for many jobs but was rejected because the criminal case appeared in background checks,” he added.
“I was framed by my seniors to save others. I was in jail for two weeks and later got bail. Then I met Advocate Sunil Pandey, who helped me, and I finally got acquitted. I am very happy that I received justice,” Shelke said.
Advocate Speak
Pandey told mid-day, “Shelke was falsely implicated and was a victim of circumstances. His name was given by the main accused, and there was no direct evidence against him. No witness or complainant’s address was verified by the prosecution; they had given false addresses. In fact, the Investigating Officer stated during cross-examination that there was a grudge between Shinde and Shelke, which is why he implicated him. There were no witnesses in this case.” He added, “It was a racket run entirely by Shinde and his gang. They framed my client, who had just joined and was under their training.”
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