Three days after a mephedrone factory was busted at Pelhar in Nalasopara, the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar Police Commissioner Monday suspended the senior inspector of Pelhar police station under whose jurisdiction the factory was operating.
The order suspending Senior Inspector Jitendra Vankoti, issued by Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik, mentioned that the site of the factory was around 300 metres away from the police station and the inspector has shown “inexcusable negligence” in taking action.
“The site of the above incident was 200 to 300 meters away from Pelhar police station, but during the interrogation, Senior Police Inspector Jitendra Vankoti has stated that he was unaware of the incident. However, even though his subordinate secondary officers, beat officers, and crime investigation team were directly working in this regard, it is seen that he has shown inexcusable negligence in directing his subordinate police officers and officials to conduct effective patrols, obtain confidential information from them, and take action against illegal businesses,” the order read.
On October 25, the Mumbai Police busted a large-scale narcotics manufacturing operation in Pelhar, in which they seized mephedrone and precursor chemicals valued at Rs 13.5 crore and arrested five people, including the manufacturer of the synthetic drug.
According to police, one of the key accused, Sohail Abdul Saif Ali Khan, who worked as a hawker in Mumbra six years ago, had transitioned into drug distribution operating multiple luxury vehicles, including a BMW. “The accused was producing 50 kilograms of contraband in a month and was running the factory for almost 10 months,” said an investigating officer.
