2 constables suspended for extorting money from man

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Following an inquiry over the alleged extortion of money from a man, two constables were suspended from duty in the city on Monday.

The disciplinary action was initiated against the two police constables after a Himachal Pradesh-based man, Vaibhav Patil, recently accused the cops of threatening to plant packets of ganja in his bag if he did not pay them. Patil, 22, is interning at a private company and gets a stipend of Rs 22,000 per month.

On the night of January 11, while travelling on a bike from HSR Layout to Begur, the two police constables are said to have stopped and questioned him. One of the cops took his bag and asked if he smoked weed.

Despite Vaibhav answering in the negative, they enacted a drama that they found ganja in his bag and threatened him with arrest. The accused policemen went on to relieve the youngster of Rs 2,500. It was also revealed that the policemen had switched off their bodyworn cameras during duty hours.

South East Deputy Commissioner of Police CK Baba confirmed that the inquiry against the two accused constables has been completed and disciplinary action initiated based on the report submitted by the investigating officer. Prima facie it has been confirmed that the two had misused their power. Despite Vaibhav's repeated pleading to at least give him Rs 100 to go back home, the cops pocketed all the money.

Later, Vaibhav made a series of tweets regarding the incident and complained about the incident to Bengaluru Commissioner of Police, CH Pratap Reddy. He maintained in the tweets that the police are trying to fix him “wrongly” in a drug case.

DCP Ck Baba assured Vaibhav of justice and that an investigation would be initiated in the incident. He also said that the department understood that he was worried and concerned and said that he could reach him on his mobile phone. Patil recorded his statement with the Bandepalya police on January 13.

He also identified the two policemen and gave oral and written statements to the police regarding the incident. He followed it up the next day by attending an inquiry. The constables, however, maintained that Vaibhav refused to let them check him, and that they did not take any money from him.

But Vaibhav maintained how and why did they let him go, if ganja was found in his bag. Vaibhav told the police that his parents were worried over the incident and wanted him to return to his hometown. After the “timely action: by the police department, Vaibhav removed all his tweets about the incident.