Kalokhe was arrested on March 9 for alleged possession of mephedrone, and Patankar was arrested later for allegedly offering the medicine to him.

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Mane, together with 4 different policemen, was arrested final week by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch after investigations revealed they’d both shielded Patankar and Kalokhe or had been a part of their drug racket.

“In 2013, Patankar tipped off Kalokhe and Mane about the businessman saying that he was a suitable target for extortion. Mane and Kalokhe visited the businessman’s residence in Malegaon, posing as senior police officers, and made him cough up Rs 25 lakh threatening to implicate him in a narcotics case if he didn’t pay up. We are gathering more details,” mentioned a Crime Branch officer.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has began a simultaneous probe into property owned by the 5 arrested policemen, which can be evaluated towards their earnings.

On Monday, Crime Branch officers began conducting searches at their workplaces and residences. “If we discover proof to ascertain that their property had been purchased utilizing proceeds of the drug racket, we are going to connect them underneath provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. If proof doesn’t set up a hyperlink, but when their property are nonetheless discovered to be increased than their earnings, we are going to write to the Anti Corruption Bureau recommending a disproportionate property inquiry. We will take a call after evaluations are full. We have details about no less than two of the 5 policemen proudly owning a good quantity of property in Mumbai in addition to outdoors the town,” mentioned Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atulchandra Kulkarni.

Investigators added {that a} probe revealed that Patankar and Senior Police Inspector Suhas Gokhale, at the moment underneath arrest, exchanged 16 calls from the time she first approached him in February finish to the time she lastly fled the town.”

“Even after Kalokhe was arrested, there have been at least six calls between Patankar and Gokhale,” mentioned a Crime Branch officer.

Kulkarni added that the numbers Patankar used to contact Gokhale had been those whose SIM playing cards had been later present in Patankar’s possession after she was arrested.

Kulkarni additionally hinted at some ANC officers’ identify having cropped up. “Names of some officers with the Anti Narcotics Cell came to light early in the investigation, which is why the case was never given to ANC,” Kulkarni mentioned.