The Karnataka State Police refused to even acknowledge such an incident happened in Delhi by not taking action against the errant cops.
Published Jan 09, 2023 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 09, 2023 | 8:00 AM
A cop on duty (Creative Commons)
It has been more than two weeks since an FIR has been registered at the Seemapuri Police Station in the national capital against three Karnataka policemen for allegedly trying to extort a Delhi-based businessman.
Yet, not only are the cops back in Bengaluru, but have also rejoined work, South First has learnt.
On Thursday, 5 January, South First visited the VV Puram Police Station in South Bengaluru and learnt that the three policemen — police sub-inspector Basavaraj Patil and head constables Sathish and Muthuraj S — had resumed working.
Apparently, they had not even been summoned for an inquiry by senior officers in the police department.
They had not even been arrested in Delhi, having only been detained for some time before being allowed to go home.
The trio of cops allegedly threatened to arrest a businessman named Pankaj Jain and his pregnant cousin in a bid to make some quick bucks.
The policemen allegedly showed them a notice in Kannada, telling them that it was an arrest warrant against them.
The trio attempted to extort ₹25 lakh from the businessman — who is into manufacturing CCTVs, computer accessories and cables — and ended up detained by the Delhi Police. The incident happened on 23 December.
When South First spoke to PSI Basavaraj Patil at the VV Puram police station, he said: “We were there to serve a police notice to one of the accused in the fake cable case in Bengaluru, and it seemed he (Pankaj) is an influential person and pressed for an FIR against us with the help of Delhi Police officials known to him.”
He added: “If there was evidence against us, would they allow us to just come back to Karnataka so easily?”
Patil acknowledged: “They have registered an FIR, but we are sure that it will end up in a B-report (closure report) as there will be no evidence.”
He also told South First: “He (Pankaj) had sent money to someone named Patel, who owns a five-star hotel in Rajasthan, and put the blame on us, claiming we extorted the amount from him.”
Patil added that the head constables were also witnesses to the incident.
Pankaj Jain (49), the complainant in the case, asked South First: “If the three Karnataka cops had not come for extortion and were here to serve just the police notice, what were they doing at my factory from 12.30 pm until 11.30 pm, after which they were taken to the police station in Delhi?”
He added: “We manufacture CCTVs, computer accessories, and cables at our factory. And I have around 16 CCTV cameras installed at my factory. Footage of the entry of the three cops with timestamps and their escaping/exiting my factory with timestamps is all available with me, with which I am going to legally fight.”
Jain also said: “Moreover, my factory employees are witnesses to the incident. They [the cops] snatched our phones and even disconnected our landlines.”
He also said that he had been getting calls from a “representative” of the Bengaluru police named Sagar, who claimed to have also worked with the Delhi Police.
Jain said this Sagar was urging him to withdraw his complaint. “Sagar told me that it was not an official call but a friendly call to convey a message to me from Bengaluru police to not pursue the case in Delhi. In return, they would be ‘more lenient’ towards the copyright case registered against me in Bengaluru,” he told South First.
However, Jain said he was in no mood to relent, as he wanted his ₹7 lakh back.
“I am going to pursue the case against the Karnataka police for extortion as I am confident that I will come out clean in the fake Copyright Act case registered against me. I will pursue the matter even if I have to approach the Supreme Court,” he told South First.
Jain on 2 January sent an email complaint to the Director General of Police and Inspector General of Karnataka in connection with his complaint.
In the email, he wrote that an FIR was filed against him in Bengaluru on 21 December with extortion as the motive.
He said that the Karnataka cops were trying to extort money, and an FIR had been registered against them in Delhi.
The email was forwarded to the Bengaluru police commissioner in minutes. It was further forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Vishweshwarapura, and the VV Puram Police Station in less than half an hour.
When South First asked Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) P Krishnakant what action had been initiated against the three policemen, he said the FIR had been registered in Delhi and it was the Delhi Police who had to proceed with the investigation.
Asked whether the DCP had received the email from Jain, he said, ” We will look into it.”
When South First sent Krishnakant a screenshot of the thread of emails from Jain to the top cops, he stated: “Necessary legal action will be taken based on the email.”
When South First spoke to the Seemapuri police in Delhi, Investigating Officer (IO) Anil Kumar said the same thing.
Jain, who is in touch with the SHO of the Seemapuri Police Station, told South First that the Delhi Police are contemplating transferring the case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
“The Delhi city police under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have to seek approval from the Governor’s office to prosecute policemen from other states. However, the ACB can investigate a corruption case involving government officials without the Governor’s approval,” he said.
