Senior police inspector Vilas Joshi, who was shot at by an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) on Saturday evening, succumbed to bullet wounds at a private hospital on Sunday, taking the toll in the shocking shoot-out inside the Vakola police station to two. Hours after ASI Dilip Shirke (55) shot himself dead after shooting at Joshi and his orderly Balasaheb Aher inside the Vakola police station, the injured senior inspector passed away at the lilavati Hospital.
Aher, who sustained bullet injuries on his thigh, is undergoing treatment at the lilavati Hospital. Joshi (54) was cremated with State honours at Chandanwadi crematorium in south Mumbai. Several senior police officials, including State Director General of Police Sanjeev Dayal, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, attended Joshi’s funeral.
In a related development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Mumbai police chief Maria to investigate the circumstances leading to the shoot-out. Maria had earlier handed over the investigations into the case to the city crime branch police. "We have started our investigation but it is too early to to say anything concrete. Statements of those at the station will be recorded for a thorough investigation," Deputy Commissioner of Crime Branch and Mumbai Police spokesman Dhananjay Kulkarni said.
Talking to media persons after meeting the Chief Minister and briefing the latter the shoot-outs inside the Vakola police station, Maria said ASI Shirke had shot at Joshi and the latter’s orderly as he was miffed with his senior for having been marked “absent” for the previous day. According to Maria, the night police inspector had marked Shirke “absent” as he --during the rounds at 2.30 am and 6.30 am – had not seen the latter. “The fact that he had been marked absent had upset Shirke so much that he shot at Joshi and his orderly after a verbal altercation at the Vakola police station on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Vilas Joshi was on Sunday cremated with full State honours in south Mumbai. Joshi (54), who hailed from Ratnagiri district, was the senior police inspector of Vakola Police station where the firing took place. He is survived by father, wife and twin daughters who are class X students. The victim’s younger brother Ganesh Joshi, who is an official at Panvel RTO performed the last rites.
“Generosity and helpfulness was in his (Joshi’s) DNA, whenever and where ever he got a chance to help someone... He went ahead to do this,” said Sudhir Sohni, one of his classmates. Responding to a question whether Joshi’s family would be getting some aid, Mumbai police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “Yes. We have set procedure for it which will be followed.” Taking a serious note of the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday ordered a detailed enquiry into the incident.