Retired cop wants to put his corrupt son (a Crime Branch officer) behind bars

An upright 83yearold retired cop with a squeakyclean track record and stellar credentials under his belt is now gunning for the most unlikely miscreant his own son The octogenarian has been running from pillar to post for the past year to bring his corrupt son to book To add to the irony this son is himself a cop Phatangare Senior has also accused his son of being corrupt and has sought an investigation by the Anti Corruption Bureau into his disproportionate assets PicSameer Markande His service record however provides a picture of contrast to that of his fatherrsquos marred as it is by grave allegations of shielding criminals and accepting huge bribes Laxman Phatangare who is a retired subinspector from the Special Branch of the Mumbai Police has accused his son Deepak Phatangare of usurping property worth crores of rupees that belonged to him Phatangare Senior has also accused his son of being corrupt and has sought an investigation by the Anti Corruption Bureau ACB into his disproportionate assets ldquoI had filed a series of complaints against him at various police stations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Besides that the High Court too has permitted me to file complaints against him but nothing has been done till daterdquo said Laxman who retired in February 1989 Laxman Phatangare holds up a photo of his son Deepak who he claims sold off his property without his knowledge PicSameer Markande Laxman who has several prestigious postings in the Mumbai police department under his belt had not been involved in a single controversy in his 34year long career as a cop and had 120 good entries on his service record While serving as an externment officer with the Preventive unit of Mumbai police in the early 70s he had externed underworld dons Arun Gawli Rama Naik and gangster Babu Resham ldquoMy son was arrested by the ACB while he was serving in Malad police station There are several other charges of corruption against him He should be taken to task under appropriate laws Also the ACB should look into his disproportionate properties worth crores of rupeesrdquo said Laxman who is currently living in Nerul In his complaint Laxman had also alleged that his son fraudulently sold a plot worth Rs 75 lakh without his consent ldquoI had bought that plot for Rs 30 lakh several years ago in my wifersquos name He claims that my wife transferred the plot to his name and so he sold itu00a0 Not just that I had invested in the house he lives in currently but he booted me out of it without allowing me to collect my property documents gold and other belongings Also I had a shop worth Rs 1 crore at Govind Nagar in Malad He has taken that away toordquo Phatangare said Since his retirement Phatangare has been operating as an estate agent He had used his savings to purchase these properties The ACB has already taken note of Laxmanrsquos complaint and a discreet inquiry is underway against the said Crime Branch officer While the ACBrsquos inquiry against Deepak Phatangare is pending it has received yet another complaint from some of the staffers of Crime Branch Unit X which was dispatched last week In this letter the staff has raised severe allegations against Deepak saying that he shielded hardened criminals and murderers in exchange for huge bribes from them ldquoOne of the staff members even deposited illegitimate money into Deepakrsquos friend Yogesh Tapalersquos Bank of Baroda account in Lonavala from time to time All the money goes into this account as his friend is constructing a lavish bungalow for him in Lonavalardquo said one of the staffers of Crime Branch unit X on condition of anonymity Another officer added that ldquoWe have given a list of examples wherein Deepak has been allegedly taken money We want that the department undertake an inquiry into all the cases listed by usrdquo Controversial cop On March 12 this year MiD DAY had reported that alleged serial killer Vijay Palande had sent a letter to the police commissioner claiming that his Skoda had been illegally seized by Crime Branch officials and was being used by Senior Inspector Deepak Phatangare Palande was arrested for murdering actor Anuj Tikkursquos father Arunkumar Tikku and businessman Karan Kakkad While Deepak denied the allegations the car was eventually found inside the compound of Crime Branch unit X and MiD DAY had even acquired a photo of it The Other Side When contacted Deepak Phatangare said ldquoI am not aware of any complaint filed against me by my father If there is a discreet inquiry they will not inform merdquo Responding to the complaint letter filed by the staffers Phatangare said ldquoAnonymous complaints do not have any stand I donrsquot believe that my staff would do such a thingrdquo