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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Kolhapur Police corruption broker exposed

Khaki, Black Money - Part 1 Crores allegedly traded for transfers and promotions; seven bank accounts under scanner AI Generated Image Kolhapur: Kolhapur has stumbled upon a rare moment of truth — and possibly a historic reckoning — within the police force. An alleged broker in the police establishment, Satish Panekar, was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) a few months ago for demanding hefty bribes in return for transfers and promotions. After spending time behind bars,...

Kolhapur Police corruption broker exposed

Khaki, Black Money - Part 1 Crores allegedly traded for transfers and promotions; seven bank accounts under scanner AI Generated Image Kolhapur: Kolhapur has stumbled upon a rare moment of truth — and possibly a historic reckoning — within the police force. An alleged broker in the police establishment, Satish Panekar, was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) a few months ago for demanding hefty bribes in return for transfers and promotions. After spending time behind bars, Panekar is now out on bail. Departmental and ACB probes are formally underway, and he is expected to face trial.   Yet, the central question remains deliberately unanswered: who was Panekar working for? Who is the real architect of this racket — the invisible hand that turned postings and promotions into a marketplace?   If that “big fish” is netted, the shockwaves could rattle the upper echelons of Maharashtra’s police hierarchy. This is not merely about one middleman. It is about dismantling a system that has converted the uniform into a licence to mint black money. Whether this opportunity is seized or squandered will determine the future credibility of a police force already battered by corruption.   Big Scandal The Panekar case has now become the most talked-about scandal within the Kolhapur police. He allegedly acted as a broker for transfers and promotions, with a woman police officer accused of identifying and funneling “clients” to him. Officers seeking favourable postings or career advancement were directed to Panekar, where the “rate card” was fixed. Once the payment was made, the desired transfer or promotion allegedly followed — as if by divine intervention.   What was earlier whispered in corridors is now openly discussed: the racket is believed to have handled transactions running into several crores of rupees. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) deputy leader Sanjay Pawar has formally alleged that Panekar parked this illegal wealth in multiple bank accounts held in his and his family members’ names. He has submitted details of seven such accounts to the district police chief, demanding a thorough probe.   The ACB, too, has reportedly sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India to access details of these accounts. If pursued honestly, the coming days could reveal the true scale of black money generated through police transfers and promotions — money extracted under the very authority meant to uphold the law. The biggest challenge, however, remains untouched: the arrest and exposure of the real mastermind.   Suspicion Widens Investigators believe the money collected by Panekar runs into several crores. The locations of the bank accounts raise further suspicion. Unlike ordinary citizens, who typically open accounts close to home, these accounts are spread across branches of nationalised and private banks in areas such as Kasba Bawda, Radhanagari and Gandhinagar. A pressure-free investigation could expose how deeply the police force has sunk into this cesspool — and who has been shielding whom.   The needle of suspicion, meanwhile, points towards a senior police officer in the state. Since Panekar’s arrest, this officer is said to have visited Kolhapur on three occasions. There is talk that the officer even met Panekar while he was in custody at the Rajarampuri police station and stayed in the city for three days. Who is this officer? How much wealth was accumulated during his tenure in Kolhapur?   If Panekar begins to speak candidly before the inquiry committee, these answers may no longer remain buried. But for that to happen, the committee needs more than procedure — it needs protection. Protection that can come only from the Chief Minister himself.

Quota Fraud

In Maharashtra’s roiling politics, scandal is rarely novel. But what distinguishes the affair of NCP leader Manikrao Kokate is not merely its age (three decades old) but the brazenness of its facts and the slipperiness of the response. A serving cabinet minister in the ruling Mahayuti, convicted of cheating and forgery for fraudulently cornering housing meant for the poor, has resigned only after an arrest warrant was issued and the threat of disqualification became unavoidable speaks volumes against the ruling government. Kokate should be formally sacked, swiftly arrested and treated like any other citizen convicted of criminal fraud.


In a case dating back to 1995, Kokate and his brother were found guilty of falsely claiming eligibility under the Chief Minister’s discretionary housing quota, meant for low-income families, to secure two flats in Nashik. The offences are a catalogue of dishonesty: cheating, forgery, using forged documents and acting with common intent. The sessions court upheld the magistrate’s verdict of a two-year sentence and a fine, triggering the Representation of the People Act’s clear provision: a conviction of two years or more brings immediate disqualification unless stayed by a higher court.


What followed was depressingly familiar. An arrest warrant against Kokate was issued, who rushed to the Bombay High Court. Kokate’s chest pain conveniently intervened, producing a hospital bed at Lilavati Hospital and a temporary shield from the police. Meanwhile, allegations surfaced that the State’s machinery was bending over backwards to buy time for a legal reprieve. None of this inspires confidence that the law applies evenly, least of all when ministers are involved.


The Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, partners in the ruling Mahayuti, are said to have insisted on Kokate’s exit, acutely aware of the optics of sheltering a convicted man. But Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must act firmly now.


Kokate’s boss, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, who now holds the sports portfolio along with finance and excise, finds himself once again at the uncomfortable centre of a moral muddle. His faction of the NCP has long claimed pragmatism as its creed. Yet pragmatism that shades into permissiveness corrodes legitimacy, especially given successive scandals involving his aide, Dhananjay Munde and son Parth Pawar.


Housing quotas for the economically weak are among the most tangible expressions of state compassion. To abuse them is thieving from those with the least voice. That such a crime could coexist with ministerial office sends a toxic signal about what Maharashtra’s political class considers tolerable.


Kokate’s past antics, including being caught playing rummy on his phone during an assembly session, add farce to the felony. But this is no laughing matter. The right course is to accept the resignation formally, sack him decisively, ensure the arrest warrant is executed without indulgence, and let the courts run their course without interference. Anything less will confirm the suspicion that in Maharashtra’s politics, a resignation is merely a pause button and justice is a negotiable inconvenience.

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