Corporator recommended security guard without a background check

It has emerged that the security guard who raped a 19yearold girl in Wadgaon Sheri crematorium on April 6 had been appointed for the job on the basis of threetime Shiv Sena corporator Sachin Bhagatrsquos letter of recommendation It has also emerged that Bhagat was aware that the alleged rapist had a criminal background when he wrote the letterOn record Sachin Bhagat admits he gave the letter below even though he knew the man had been lsquoinvolved in some cases of manhandling in the pastrsquoThe revelation about Bhagatrsquos involvement in the appointment was made in course of investigations carried out by the PMC and confirmed by a clarification submitted by the contractor who had appointed the rape accused Dhanajay Namdeo Rokde 29 as security guard of the crematorium in April 2012 on the basis of Bhagatrsquos recommendation midday has a copy of the documentShiv Sena Corporator Sachin Bhagatrsquos residence and office in Wadgaon Sheri PicMohan PatilThe clarification submitted by Spider Security Services which had appointed accused Rokde in 2012 at Bhaktisagar Crematorium at Wadgaon Sheri states lsquoOn submission of a recommendation letter by PMC member Sachin Bhagat dated April 29 2012 we appointed Dhanajay Rokde at Bhaktisagar Crematorium who was serving at the same place for the past five years with other security agenciesrdquoWhen midday contacted Bhagat he admitted that he had recommended Rokde as he belongs to his area ldquoI had given a recommendation letter to Rokde some eight years back At that time I had not imagined that he would be involved in such a heinous crimerdquo Bhagat saidAsked if he was aware about Rokdersquos criminal record Bhagat said ldquoI know that he was involved in some cases of manhandling in the past in connection with village politicsrdquo He quickly changed track saying ldquoI did not know Rokde personally at the time I handed over the letter to him I had recommended him for the job of a security guard on the advice of one of my party workersrdquoWhile Bhagat claimed that he had given the recommendation letter to the accused eight years ago the date on the same letter a copy of which is with midday is April 29 2012ldquoItrsquos not that I had recommended only Rokde On my recommendation at least six people in my ward got jobs and they are doing quite well in various departments of PMC In this case also I visited the survivorrsquos family and demanded strong action against the accusedrdquo he addedRenowned feminist Kiran Moghe said ldquoThere is deep nexus between politicians and criminals Hence despite committing grave crimes they get bail do not get externed and become confident that the law cannot punish themrdquoAfter news of the rape made headlines Shiv Sena senior leader Neelam Gorhe had written to Police Commissioner Satish Mathur asking him to deploy roaming squads in the city to ensure the safety of women in crimeprone areas However she refused to comment on her party corporator Bhagatrsquos role in the appointment of the accused at the crematorium ldquoThe accused in the case should get maximum punishmentrdquo she saidDevendra Chavan assistant police inspector of Yerawada police station said ldquoIt is the responsibility of the concerned security agency to ensure police verification of every guard after making their appointment In this case no such police verification was donerdquo