A police inspector attached to the Bengaluru City Police Commissionerate was suspended from duty on Tuesday, 22 March, for allegedly sexually harassing a woman who had approached him for help.
She apparently wanted to recover the money she was cheated of by a businessman in the city.
The suspension of the police inspector — identified as Rajanna — came after an initial inquiry conducted by the Yelahanka subdivision Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) R Manjunath.
He submitted a report based on the CCTV footage collected from the Kodigehalli Police Station and other related evidence corroborating the narrative of the complainant, who alleged sexual harassment by the police inspector.
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The complaint
In her complaint to the senior police officials, the woman stated that she invested ₹15 lakh in a business proposal less than a year ago, but later found out that the businessman with whom she entrusted her investments was a fraud.
She also later learnt that there was a case registered against the businessman by another cheated victim at the Kodigehalli Police Station, a charge sheet had also been filed, with the trial underway, police sources told South First.
Last month, the woman approached Rajanna and sought his help in recovering her hard-earned money from the businessman.
She came to the police station with a male companion, who was asked to wait outside while Rajanna spoke to her in person and assured her that he would help her in recovering the money, she said in the complaint.
The inspector is said to have collected the woman’s mobile phone number, and started texting her often from his personal cellphone.
Having determined that the inspector was crossing his limits with his messages, the woman chose not to reply to them.
She was then asked to come to the police station one day, where the inspector handed her a hotel key and told her that he would like to meet her there, indirectly seeking sexual favours, the woman alleged in her complaint.
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Police eventually take action
Shocked, the woman narrated her ordeal to a woman police officer at the Kodigehalli Police Station itself.
The woman officer apparently consoled her, but advised her against filing a complaint against the inspector.
Dejected, the woman left for Chikkamagaluru for some work for a few days.
Returning to Bengaluru, she mustered the courage to file a complaint against Rajanna with his superior officers. She then filed a written complaint with a senior police officer.
The complaint was brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East Division) BM Laxmi Prasad, who directed his ACP R Manjunath to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
Manjunath conducted an inquiry. He went through the text messages Rajanna had sent to the woman and CCTV footage from the police station where the woman said she was summoned by the inspector. The evidence appeared to corroborate the woman’s complaint.
The inquiry report was submitted to the DCP on Tuesday morning. He forwarded it to the Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy, who suspended Rajanna on Tuesday evening.
“Police Inspector Rajanna has been suspended pending a detailed departmental enquiry, which will be conducted against the officer. If evidence is found against him, there might even be a case registered against him,” the DCP told South First.
