Mumbai: A sessions court on Saturday granted bail to three dismissed railway policemen accused of extorting and assaulting a passenger at Mumbai Central Terminus in August last year.The Supreme Court had previously set aside a Bombay high court order granting them anticipatory bail, observing that the allegations, if proven, would erode the credibility of the force and vitiate the trust placed in them to maintain law and order. “When law enforcers turn extortionists, the citizen looks askance and is left in a dilemma. To confront is to invite instant retaliation and the option is only to succumb meekly to the uniformed authority, even when there is patent abuse,” SC judges Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran had observed in their May 27 order. The accused — Rahul Bhosale (47), Lalit Jagtap (50) and Anil Rathod (37) — were subsequently arrested on June 3.While the prosecution opposed the bail plea, expressing concerns that the accused might tamper with evidence or influence the ongoing process, the sessions court found no exceptional circumstances to justify continued detention. “It is settled law that at the time of considering bail application, the detailed evaluation of the evidence is not required. There is no material on record to show that after grant of anticipatory bail by the.. High Court, accused.. have breached any of the conditions,” additional sessions judge Prashant C Kale said.The incident occurred on August 10, 2025. A Rajasthan-based jeweller and his eight-year-old daughter were about to board the Duronto Express from Mumbai Central Terminus when uniformed personnel stopped them for baggage examination. The jeweller’s brother-in-law was accompanying him. Although the officers found 14 grams of gold and over Rs 31,000 in cash, the passenger provided satisfactory explanations for the items. But they reportedly took the men to an office room, where they threatened and assaulted them. According to the prosecution, the accused forced the victims to sign blank papers and ultimately kept a substantial portion of the cash before releasing them.The jeweller registered a police complaint in Rajasthan on August 17, 2025. It was subsequently transferred to Mumbai Central GRP and then to the Railway Crime Branch.Seeking bail, the accused argued that they had been falsely implicated and noted that they had since been dismissed from service following a departmental inquiry. It was further submitted that the investigation was complete, the accused had undergone a test identification parade, and they had no prior criminal records.In the order granting bail, the judge said, “Evaluating the material before me with the contentions raised by…accused and accusations on record, there are no exceptional circumstances for further detention of…accused.” The court further noted that while the prosecution raised concerns about the potential for tampering with evidence, it remained possible to safeguard the interests of the investigating agency through stringent conditions.The accused are required to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each with one or two sureties of the same amount. Among the conditions imposed, they must mark their presence at the Mumbai Central railway police station on the first Wednesday of every month until the chargesheet is filed. They are also prohibited from contacting or threatening individuals acquainted with the facts of the case, must attend all scheduled dates in the trial court, and are barred from leaving India without prior permission.
