Cyber fraud case: Mangaluru police commissioner suspends head constable for taking selfie with accused

Mangaluru: Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal has suspended Urwa Police Station head constable Peter D'Souza for taking a selfie with an accused involved in a cyber fraud case, during the investigation.

Clicking a selfie with the accused, is a violation of departmental disciplinary guidelines. As a result, Peter has been suspended pending departmental inquiry.

Disciplinary action has also been taken against the Urwa Police Inspector for negligence in handling the case.

Refuting the allegations that police personnel had gone on a tour with cyber fraud accused in connection with an investigation of a case related to ordering goods under false identity and later selling the goods, the commissioner said that an inquiry was conducted by the CCB ACP to verify the authenticity of the claims.

The investigation revealed that the Inspector of Urwa Police Station, who was in charge of investigating the case along with other personnel, traveled by flight from Bengaluru Airport to Jaipur in Rajasthan.

The inspector personally arranged and paid for flight tickets through an acquaintance, and the accused did not bear any travel expenses.

Additionally, a review of the police station’s CCTV footage confirmed that while the accused was in custody, the accused was kept in the station’s lockup and was only brought out for questioning. There was no evidence of special treatment given to the accused.

During one such interrogation session, a group of students and faculty members from Bhuwanajyoti College, Moodbidri visited the station and met the inspector.

At that moment, the accused was seen sitting on the floor and was only standing up when the visitors arrived, but he did not conduct any awareness programmes for the students, the commissioner clarified.