2 SIs suspended for extorting Rs 20L from trader, on run

Meerut: Two sub-inspectors, posted at Lohia Nagar police station in Meerut, have been suspended for allegedly extorting Rs 20 lakh from a local thread trader by threatening to implicate him in a hawala racket and send him to jail. An FIR was registered against the two accused police officers on Monday, following which they have been on the run.The case unfolded after Mohd Rasiq, a resident of Lisadi Gate area, lodged a complaint last Friday at Kotwali police station against SIs Mahesh Kumar and Lokendra Sahu who had allegedly received a tip-off that a large sum of money had been transferred into Rasiq's bank account."On Dec 11 last year, the two policemen called me to an isolated spot on Meerut bypass and threatened to file a case against me if I did not pay them Rs 20 lakh. I was left with no choice but to pay," stated Rasiq in his police complaint.Based on his complaint and on the directions of SSP Avinash Pandey, SP (City) Ayush Vikram conducted a preliminary inquiry which found that the allegations were true. Based on the SP's report, SSP Pandey suspended the two accused officers and ordered a criminal case against them. The role of the SHO, inspector Yogesh Chand, in the case was also under scrutiny, following which he was suspended.SSP Pandey said, "The complainant approached us claiming that two men posing as policemen had threatened a false case against him, followed by arrest, and that they extorted some money from him. An inquiry confirmed the allegations to be true. The two men were recently appointed sub-inspectors and posted at Lohia Nagar police station."The SSP added that there was no evidence of any hawala transaction and that the amount that had been transferred to the complainant's bank account was a business transaction.Additional SP and circle officer (Kotwali) Antariksh Jain said a case has been registered against Mahesh and Lokendra under BNS sections 308 (extortion), 127 illegal confinement), 351 (criminal intimidation) and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act."Soon after the FIR was registered, the two accused SIs went absconding, following which a search operation was launched. They will be arrested," he said.