Mallika Dureja
A Mumbai Police constable who was dismissed due to allegations of murder, attempted murder, and rioting has been reinstated into the force.
Constable Shyam Mahadeo Kuril, who is presently assigned to the Tardeo Local Arms Division, was allegedly involved in the 2017 Hingoli riots in which one man was killed and five others were severely injured. Kuril was placed on administrative leave in 2017 and terminated in July 2022.
He appealed to the government against his dismissal order and presented his side. As a result, the government reduced his sanction from ‘dismissal’ to ‘no increment for two years’ and reinstated him in the police service, according to a police officer.
Also dismissed was Kuril’s cousin, Tuljesh Fakirchand Kuril, a constable who was also allegedly implicated in the Hingoli incident.
On August 17, 2017, there was a significant conflict between two factions in the Rohidas Chowk neighbourhood of Hingoli. Shyam was a member of a group that attacked members of the opposing group with swords and iron rods. The incident had occurred over the planning of a dahi handi celebration.
Vijay Pyarelal Kuril, a 40-year-old owner of a shoe store, submitted the FIR based on a complaint. Nine intoxicated men verbally assaulted his cousin Bablu Kuril over the issue of organising dahi handi in the region. “When Vijay asked them why they were assaulting his cousin, they attacked him with a stick, bamboo sticks, and swords,” the FIR states.
Vijay’s four brothers and a few others raced to the scene to assist them, but by that time, nine more individuals from the opposing group had arrived. Among these nine individuals were Mumbai police officers Shyam Kuril and Tuljesh Kuril.
The FIR states, “Tuljesh allegedly struck the complainant’s brother Jeetu Kuril on the head with an iron pole, while Shyam stabbed him with a gupti”
Shyam and Tuljesh attacked with lethal weapons the other group, which included Vijay and his brother Jeetu. Jeetu passed away the same day at the hospital.
The police in the city of Hingoli apprehended all those accused of murder, attempted murder, violence, etc. Later, Shyam and Tuljesh, along with the other accused, were released from detention on bail granted during the lockdown.
In 2017, the accused police officers were suspended pending a departmental investigation; five years later, Dyaneshwar Chavan, the additional commissioner of police, dismissed them (central region).
Vijay was unavailable for comment regarding the occurrence.
