ACB conducts raid in 7 places including residences, offices of tainted police officers in Bengaluru

The Anti Corruption Bureau police have conducted simultaneous raids on the residences and offices of the three suspended officials of Central Crime Branch (CCB) including an assistant commissioner of police and two police inspectors. The raids were also conducted on the residences of rowdy sheeter, a real estate agent and a tobacco dealer, who had filed complaints against the officers for extorting money from him.

A senior officer from ACB said that they conducted raids on seven locations in the early hours and the operation is still on. We have seized some documents. The exact details of the outcome of the raids can be provided only after the search and questioning of the accused persons and their family members are over.

The ACB on Thursday had registered three FIRs against the tainted officials and their associates who had helped them in collecting bribe from the tobacco dealers.

The raids were conducted on the residence of the suspended ACP Prabhushankar M in Sahakaranagar, police inspectors Ajay RM residing in HRBR Layout, Niranjan Kumar's house in Basaveshwaranagar and their CCB office near Mysore Circle. The raids were also conducted on the residence of rowdy sheeter Babu Rajendra Prasad in Yelahanka New Town, real estate agent Bhushan's house and office in Yelahanka New Town and tobacco dealer Adil Aziz Khan residence in Shanthi Nagar.

An investigating officer from ACB said we are verifying the documents available in the residences of the accused officials and others. Since they are also police officers, they allegedly seem to have taken some measures to avoid major seizures. However, the documents available are being verified and the accused persons are being interrogated.

The tainted officials had taken a bribe and extorted money from tobacco dealers during the lockdown and allowed them to sell the products including cigarettes, chewing tobacco like Gutkha, pan masala illegally at a higher price. When they demanded more money from the dealers, a couple of dealers had approached police commissioner Bhaskar Rao and had complained against them. The dealer had even taken Rs 13 lakh from selling fake N95 masks to help Rao in the case registered against tainted officials in Banaswadi police station after a raid conducted on his shop.

A preliminary enquiry conducted by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Crime 1, Kuldeep Kumar Jain and Crime 2, Ravi Kumar had confirmed that the officers had taken the money. They have seized around Rs 30 lakh from the officers and two cases of extortion under IPC 384 has been registered at Cottonpet police station. DCP, West, Ramesh B is the investigating officer for extortion cases. Prabhushankar has got anticipatory bail in the extortion cases.