Sub-inspector, 'journalist' arrested in Rs 26 lakh heist

In a sensational development, police arrested a probationary sub-inspector who had allegedly teamed up with a self-proclaimed journalist and a few others to commit an abduction-robbery in the city.

Jeevan Kumar, 31, posted at the SJ Park police station in the heart of Bengaluru, was part of a gang that abducted two men from near the Chickpet metro station in broad daylight on August 19 and robbed them of Rs 26.5 lakh.

The crime was pulled off after a lot of groundwork and with clockwork-like precision. The gang targeted Mohan, an agro-businessman from Gubbi, Tumakuru district, who supplies copra, areca nut, tamarind to traders in Bengaluru.

Mohan sent his two employees, Shivakumara Swamy and Darshan, to Bengaluru to collect Rs 26.5 lakh from Bharath, a trader in Chickpet. The employees left Gubbi around 11 am on August 19 and drove to Chickpet where Bharath handed them the money around 1.30 pm. The duo kept the cash in a bag in their car and rang up their boss, Mohan, saying they had received the money and were leaving Bengaluru. Mohan, however, asked them to collect Rs 2 lakh from another trader and then leave.

The duo followed the instructions and waited in the car near the Chickpet metro station for the second trader.

But before the trader could arrive, three unidentified men claiming to be cops arrived from nowhere, forced themselves into the car and took away the duo’s mobile phones. They asked Swamy to drive to the police station. A uniformed policeman followed them on a two-wheeler. He motioned to Swamy to follow him. A car also followed.

The trio asked Swamy to pull in near Unity Buildings. As soon as he pulled in, they shifted the cash bag to their car and asked him to drive to the police station. As a frightened Swamy pleaded with them, they asked him to drive towards Lalbagh. Here, the abductors returned the employees’ phones and left.

Suspecting something fishy, Swamy filed a complaint with the City Market police. Since the crime was thought to have been committed by a uniformed cop, Assistant Commissioner of Police H N Dharmendra and inspector B G Kumaraswamy were assigned to solve it.

The investigators soon discovered that sub-inspector Kumar was seen near the crime spot. His questioning led them to his uncle Jnana Prakash, 44, who claims to be a journalist and the state president of a human rights organisation. The duo eventually confessed.

According to Sanjeev M Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Kumar and Prakash had partnered with Kishore, a Gubbi resident, who tipped them that Mohan was going to collect a huge sum from a trader in Bengaluru. Prakash planned to rob the money and roped in Kumar, the DCP added.

Given the gravity of the offence, police have taken both Kumar and Prakash into custody for questioning. “We have some leads about people involved in the crime. Efforts are underway to nab them,” Patil said.

'Cop wore uniform, was on duty'

Jeevan Kumar joined the Karnataka state police as a sub-inspector and was on probation. But due to his irregularity at work, he hadn't yet finished the two-and-a-half-year probationary period.

He took part in the abduction-cum-dacoity while wearing the police uniform and during working hours, according to investigators.

This wasn't Kumar's first tryst with trouble. Recently, citizens staged a protest against him at the SJ Park police station, accusing him of "falsely" booking them under the National Disaster Management Act during the lockdown, said DCP, Sanjeev Patil.

Jnana Prakash, whose niece married Kumar, joined the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in 2006 as a driver-cum-conductor. His first posting was in Hubballi.

Prakash was later deputed to the Vidhana Soudha as a driver and served in the finance department for 10 years before taking voluntary retirement.

When police questioned him, he reportedly justified what they had done, saying they didn't commit any crime as the money was "illegal".