Two constables suspended for extorting Rs 2,500 from Himachal youth

Bengaluru police on Monday suspended two constables who allegedly extorted Rs 2,500 from a 22-year-old man last week.

This is the third reported incident of cops extorting money from members of the public by threatening to implicate them in false cases since December.

Vaibhav Patil, a native of Himachal Pradesh who came to Bengaluru six months ago to intern at a private company, took to Twitter last week to share the incident, which occurred around 3.30 am on January 11.

Patil said he was returning home on a bike taxi when two policemen stopped him near Ayyappa Swamy Temple in HSR Layout. He claimed the cops planted ganja in his bag on the pretext of checking it and threatened to haul him up to the police station.

They later took him to a desolate place in the name of doing a medical test on him. They extorted Rs 2,500 in cash and asked him to withdraw more from an ATM. When he said he didn't have his debit card and offered to transfer the money by UPI, they didn't agree and let him go.

C K Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), replied to Patil's tweets and promised action.

"Based on an inquiry report, disciplinary action has been initiated against two constables from the Bandepalya police station for dereliction of duty," Baba said in a statement.

The inquiry found that the cops were Teerth Kumar and Mallesh.

The inquiry found the constables guilty on three counts, including taking money and switching off the body-worn camera.

According to a well-placed source, all night-shift police officers in the southeastern division have been instructed to wear body-worn cameras while on duty.

It is unclear how the top brass ensures the night-round cops don't turn off their body cameras.

The source denied Patil's accusation that the constables had planted marijuana in his bag.

Recent incidents

On December 7, a police constable from Govindarajanagar police station allegedly extorted Rs 2 lakh from a jeweller's employee who was on his way to hand over Rs 10 lakh to his employer's house. The constable was later arrested.

Two constables from the Sampigehahalli police station harassed and extorted Rs 1,000 from a married couple who were returning home from a ceremony at 12.30 am on December 9.