Cops celebrate fraudster’s birthday in station

Two police sub-inspectors, earlier attached to the Vidyaranyapura station, face disciplinary action for celebrating the birthday of a civilian, who was later found to be a robber.

The one-year-old video of the birthday cake-cutting recently went viral, drawing flak from all quarters.

Sources in the police department said the two sub-inspectors and other staff at the station celebrated the birthday of Abhishek (25), recently arrested for cheating a car owner and robbing him of Rs 10,000.

It later emerged that Abhishek threatened people, claiming he was a crime police constable attached to Vidyaranyapura and possessed a fake identity card that he used to rob people.

Abhishek was held for threatening Karthik, whose car he borrowed claiming he was visiting Goa and Hubballi with his "senior officers" for an encounter. Karthik gave his car believing Abhishek to be a policeman.

When the car was not returned, Karthik asked about it to Abhishek, who returned the car with damages in an accident. When Karthik asked him to pay for the damages, Abhishek threatened to foist a false case and send him to prison. He even blackmailed Karthik to pay Rs 10,000 and demanded an additional Rs 40,000. Unable to put up with the harassment, Karthik and his friends scolded Abhishek in public. They later learnt that he was not a policeman and filed a complaint, based on which Abhishek was arrested last month.

The two sub-inspectors are now in trouble for the video showing them celebrating Abhishek's birthday. The police are planning to hold an inquiry after the video went viral.

DCP (North-East) Bhimashankar Guled said the celebration happened last August when there were no cases against Abhishek. However, he admitted that it is against police discipline to celebrate a private person's birthday in a police station.

Guled said the officers in the video had been transferred from the station seven months ago, but disciplinary action will be taken against them after the departmental inquiry.