Chilling midnight knock at Ghatkopar flat, a mistake!

Relaying the experience, Sindhu’s 34-year-old son Sunder, an engineer, said, “The men stormed inside and stayed for 45 minutes, conducting a thorough search. They were, probably, looking for hidden weapons. Despite repeated queries they did not tell me which police station they were from. They did not offer names, either…only told us theywere police officers. They thoroughly searched the place, opening drawers and looking through books and records.”

As Sunder and his dazed mother watched the men told them that they were investigating some telephone calls made from Sunder’s phone on October 28, to `certain questionable people.’ The officers had been tipped off by MTNL.

“I kept telling them we were law-abiding citizens, but they would not listen. They were adamant their information was accurate.” Eventually, Sunder produced some telephone bills to prove his case. “We hardly make any calls from home. Our bills never exceed Rs 400.”

The search proved inconclusive, and seeing the docile mother-and-son duo, the officers summed it up as a case of mistaken identity. They said they had probably been supplied the wrong number. They left without an apology.

Sindhu who is convalescing after her third heart attack–she had returned home from hospital on November 7–is in a state of shock, while her son today lodged a complaint.

ThePantnagar police under whose jurisdiction Goradia Nagar falls, was aware of the swoop-down, as their patrol car manning the area had been tipped off by the officers. The raiding party comprised 15 men from Thane crime branch. While eight men searched the flat, seven armed men were posted outside, to keep a watch. They had probably come prepared for an encounter.

Sunder who first went to the Pantnagar police station to file a complaint was informed he would have to approach Thane police as the men were from the Thane crime branch. Subsequently, he lodged a formal complaint with the Thane Commissioner of Police and has sought a clarification and protection from any retribution. When this reporter met him, Sunder requested his identity be concealed. “The search must have been a mistake, as the DCP (crime) who took my complaint admitted. I don’t want to further complicate the matter.”

An inspector attached to crime branch admitted, “The episode is clearly a case of mistaken identity. It could happen toanyone. But the officers should have been more judicious. They could have kept the man under surveillance for a couple of days instead of barging in like this.”

When contacted, Thane police commissioner Bhujang Rao Mohite said, “If my officers have gone there, it must be in connection with an investigation. I do not want to comment on it over the phone.”