Policeman on the run after suspension

A 39-year-old inspector of SJ Park police station, B C Yogesh Kumar Naik, has been absconding since August 24 following the arrest of his junior colleague sub-inspector Jeevan Kumar for kidnap and dacoity.

A senior officer said Naik dreaded the prospect of being humiliated and undergoing the third-degree treatment during interrogation by the City Market police.

Kumar was residing in the police officers’ quarters in Ashoknagar.

Among the associates arrested along with Kumar are his uncle Jnana Prakash (44) of Jnanabharathi, retired police officer Arogya Swamy (67) of Kengeri, Mahesh (46) from Moodalapalya and editor of Suddi Saramale magazine, driver Tilak (22), and Kishore (25), a photographer and a resident of Thyagarajanagar.

All of them were arrested for kidnapping Shivakumar Swamy and Darshan, who work for Gubbi-based businessman Mohan, from the Chickpet metro station on August 19 and robbing them of Rs 26.5 lakh they had collected from a trader.

After the robbery, Kumar and others went to Naik and handed him the stolen money. Naik allegedly took Rs 8 lakh and gave Rs 5 lakh to Kumar. The others shared the rest.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sanjeev M Patil brought Naik’s role to the attention of Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, who placed the inspector under suspension until further orders.

The incident came to light on August 21, after Mohan asked his employees to file a complaint.