Pune: Constable Penalised After Failing to Register Dummy Complainant’s Case

Pune, 3rd August 2026: A police constable attached to the Pune Police has been penalised after he failed to register the complaint of a “dummy complainant” sent as part of an internal exercise to assess how citizens are treated at police stations.

The constable, Rajesh Salunke, has been denied his annual salary increment for two years after an inquiry found him guilty of dereliction of duty. Salunke was posted at Mundhwa police station at the time of the incident and is currently attached to the Airport police station.

According to police officials, the exercise was conducted on June 21, 2026, to assess whether members of the public receive proper assistance when they approach police stations with complaints.

As part of the exercise, a young man identified as Shubham posed as a food delivery executive and visited the Mundhwa police station jurisdiction claiming that he had been stopped, abused and threatened by a motorist following a road-rage incident.

Shubham first approached the Mundhwa police outpost, where personnel directed him to the main police station instead of recording his complaint. At the main police station, he met constable Rajesh Salunke.

After hearing the complainant, Salunke allegedly did not initiate the process of registering a case. Instead, he reportedly told him that there were no CCTV cameras at the spot where the incident had occurred and asked whether he had sustained any injuries. He then advised the complainant to “drive carefully while doing delivery work” and sent him away without registering the complaint.

The entire exercise was being monitored by senior police officers. Following the findings of the inquiry, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 6) Jeevan Beniwal concluded that Salunke had failed to discharge his duties and ordered that his annual salary increments be withheld for two years as disciplinary action.