Bengaluru cops detained in Kerala for striking a deal with the accused

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In an embarrassment to the city police, four cops including a Police Inspector attached to Whitefield Police Station were detained in Kerala for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from a person accused in an online fraud case.

It was revealed that a squad of four policemen from Cyber Economics and Narcotics (CEN) department in Bengaluru, had gone to Kerala to investigate a crypto-related case following which they took two youths into custody on August 1.

However the cops allegedly made an offer to free them and clear the charges against them if they paid a bribe of Rs 10 lakh on the spot. Kalamassery police informed that the two youths, who are natives of Kumbalangi in the western suburbs of Kochi, arranged for Rs 4 lakh and handed over the sum to the Bengaluru cops.

The matter came to light when one of the accused informed his lawyer about the demand. A complaint was registered when the plan did not materialise.

Kalamassery police have confirmed that the four arrested policemen have been kept in police custody at Kalamassery police station. A first information report (FIR) has also been registered in the matter. As per sources, the FIR accuses the four cops of extortion and wrongful confinement.

A Karnataka taxi with the number plate KA 03 AF 6301 is also in custody of the Kerala police. A packet containing Rs 3.95 lakh in cash was recovered from the vehicle. Kalamassery police further said that since the case holds policemen from another state as the accused, further action will be taken only after receiving an order from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

Kochi DCP S Sasidharan has confirmed that Bengaluru police had registered a case in Whitefield police station on a crypto-related scam and based on that the four policemen had visited Kerala to investigate the matter.

"We have to seek legal opinion to prosecute the accused," he added.

According to Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield) S Girish, CEN Police Inspector Shivaprakash and three of his staff, Head Constables Vijaykumar and Shivani and a constable Sandesh, left for Kerala to pick up an accused on July 31.

"Investigating a case of cheating worth Rs 26 lakh from a woman named Nita, an FIR was filed on June 14 with the CEN police here. A team of four policemen left for Kerala after they traced the accused in Kochi. They first took Noushad from Malappuram into custody and left for Kochi to pick up two more suspects," DCP Girish said.