Ex-cop, who was beaten by armyman brother finally gets justice after 19 yrs

Vitthal Kadam was assaulted by his brother over a dispute about a flatNineteen years after he was temporarily blinded tied up and thrashed with a wooden log a policeman has finally managed to get his brother an army man arrested for assault Vitthal Kadam 66 who retired as an assistant commissioner of police used RTI to get the Oshiwara cops to arrest his brother lieutenant colonel retd Netaji Kadam 69The incident report that appeared in midday in 1998Netaji was produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Andheri last week and has been remanded to judicial custody till January 28 The Oshiwara police arrested him with the help of the Karnataka police from his Belgaum homeldquoAll these years I waited for the trial to begin but I am surprised that the accused in connivance with the local police had kept the court in dark and managed to delay the trialrdquo alleged ACP KadamMidnight assaultOn May 22 1998 Netaji called his younger brother who was then an inspector in Pune to his Army Welfare Housing Association flat in Oshiwara to discuss a family property disputeldquoAs soon as I rang the bell he dragged me inside and with the help of his subordinate from the Defence Security Corps Kabir Ahmed Qureshirdquo recollected the ACP ldquoThey overpowered me threw chilly powder in my eyes tied me up and assaulted me with a wooden logrdquoAlso Read Cop beaten up by goon made to wait 5 hours to file complaintOn hearing Vitthalrsquos cries for help some neighbour informed the Oshiwara police who rescued himmidday reported the incident in its May 24 1998 editionShubhash Khanvilkar senior police inspector Oshiwara said ldquoWe are in search of the other coaccused who is at largerdquoCase dilutedldquoHad the police not reached they would have killed merdquo said Vitthal adding that instead of registering a case of attempt to murder the Oshiwara police turned it into petty offenceldquoOnly when they gave me the FIR copy the next day did I see that the original Section 307 attempt to murder case was struck down and Section 324 was addedrdquo alleged Vitthal ldquoThe line in my statement where I said they attempted to kill me was overwritten to read as lsquothey threatened mersquo Despite bringing it to the then police commissioner Ronnie Mendoncarsquos attention no action was takenrdquoPrivate sleuthingAfter he retired Vitthal started tracking the case againHe filed a Right to Information RTI application and sought the following details from the Oshiwara police 1 details of people arrested 2 did they get bail 3 if so give details of sureties furnished 4 details of adjournments 5 copy of court attendance of the two accused 6 and details of summons warrants issued by court against the accusedThe police said they did not have these records ldquoIf they did not have the information how did they file the chargesheetrdquoMore investigations revealed that the accused was seeking adjournments without ever being present in court which he brought to the courtrsquos notice on June 23 2016 He also started attending every hearingldquoAfter I petitioned the court several summons and warrants mdash bailable and nonbailable mdash were issued but the police kept claiming they could not trace the accusedrdquoRead Story Cop brutally assaulted by four men feels lucky to be aliveHe then procured his brotherrsquos current address and mobile number and handed them over to the police Finally after his sustained efforts the police were forced to act and arrested Netaji last weekldquoAs a retired police officer I am ashamed that my own department colluded with the accused and ensured he remained freerdquoOn his elder brother Vitthal added ldquoHe was like an elder brother for us but I havenrsquot spoken to him since the incident I am sure he will try to retaliate once he is out on bail but I am prepared for it I have all documents and evidence to prove the charges against him and his aide but I wonder if the prosecution even has their witness to prove the charges But I hope the court will ensure the trial begins at the earliest and gives me justicerdquo