Chennai: Two policemen steal and sell ganja, arrested

CHENNAI: Amid the crackdown on ganja peddlers across the state, two policemen were arrested on Sunday for selling some of the narcotic from a consignment seized last week at the Chennai Central railway station.
The crime came to light when police on a tip-off intercepted realtor Dilip Kumar, 39, of J J Nagar. They found one kg of ganja with him. Police said Dilip Kumar told them he had bought the ganja from Sakthivel, 29, a government railway police constable.It turned out Sakthivel had taken away 1.2 kg from a bulk seizure last week at Central.
Dilip Kumar’s brother is also in the railway police and stays at the Otteri railway quarters. That was where he befriended Sakthivel, who used to frequent his brother’s house, and Selvakumar, 25, who is writer in the cyber crime wing in the DGP’s office.
Last week, Dilip Kumar, Selvakumar and Shakthivel, were drinking when the two cops asked Dilip Kumar to sell ganja for them, police said. Dilip Kumar paid them ₹7,000 and took the ganja from Shakthivel at the railway quarters at 8.30 pm on Saturday. He agreed to sell it with the help of an advocate. He was waiting near a Saibaba temple at Ayanavaram early on Sunday to hand over the packet to the advocate when a special team led by Kilpauk deputy commissioner K Karthikeyan arrived at the spot and seized the parcel. Ayanavaram police booked the trio and they have been remanded in judicial custody.
Police said Shakthivel told them that before it could be weighed he had secreted away some of the 18kg of ganja seized from a passenger who arrived by the Howrah Express at Chennai Central. The two constables said they thought they could make some easy money by selling the ganja. Dilip Kumar already has a case filed against him by the Thirumangalam police for running a spa without proper permission.
The police constables are likely to be placed under suspension on Monday.