Bengaluru: A day after eight police officials were dismissed from the service, another police constable is likely to be stripped of his uniform, this time from the Bagepalli police station in Chikkaballapur district.
An Andhra-Pradesh based businessman, who directly lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Central Range Seemanth Kumar Singh at his office on Wednesday, alleged that he was extorted Rs 3.7 lakh by a constable, identified as Srinivasappa.
On December 8, the police had intercepted Ramachandra Reddy at a raid that they were conducting at a brick klin in Bagepalli. Reddy had Rs 4.7 lakh on him and the police suspected that he was carrying the cash for exchanging it for demonetised notes on commission basis.
While Reddy kept pleading to the police that the money he carried was accounted for and meant for purchasing bricks from the klin, the police bundled him to the police station to further verify his claims.
At the police station, Reddy convinced the police inspector, Vasanth, that the money was from his accounted income, after which the inspector allowed him to leave with his money.
While Reddy took his money and left the police station, he was allegedly followed by one of the constables, Srinivasappa, who intercepted him and asked him to part with Rs 3.7 lakh. The constable threatened to foist false cases against him, if he were to reveal about this to anyone. The constable took Rs 3.7 lakh and went away.
Reddy did not open his mouth about the incident until December 14, when he mustered courage and lodged a police complaint. The IGP had demanded a departmental inquiry after handing over the complaint to Superintendent of Police (SP) Chikkaballapura, Chaitra. The SP is conducting the investigation to ascertain whether he was operating alone or other police officials were involved.
