Meerut, February 10 Two sub-inspectors stationed at the Lohia Nagar Police Station here have been accused of kidnapping a thread trader and extorting Rs 20 lakh from him, police said on Tuesday.
Following a confidential investigation into the case, the allegations were found to be true, leading to the recovery of Rs 15 lakh, they said. The two sub-inspectors are currently at large.
Senior Superintendent of Police Avinash Pandey told PTI on Tuesday that a few days ago, he was informed about an instance of illegal extortion by police officers from a businessman.
The city superintendent of police summoned the businessman, gathered all the relevant facts, and ordered an investigation that revealed the involvement of the two sub-inspectors.
The SSP also said that the role of the in-charge of the Lohia Nagar Police Station is also being investigated.
The two absconding sub-inspectors have been identified as Mahesh and Lokendra Sahu, both of the 2023 batch, police sources said.
The two have been booked under sections 308(5) (extortion by putting any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt) and 308(6) (extortion, puts or attempts to put any person in fear of an accusation) of the BNS.
According to the police, Rasik, a resident of the Lisadi Gate Police Station area, is a thread trader by profession with business links to Dubai.
A tip-off about a large sum of money from land proceeds led the two sub-inspectors to abduct the businessman, threaten him with imprisonment in a false gold smuggling case, and extort Rs 20 lakh. They then demanded another Rs 10 lakh.
An investigation confirmed the presence of all three at the same location through mobile phone locations and CCTV footage.
During interrogation, police recovered Rs 15 lakh from the two sub-inspectors, but they fled under the pretext of bringing over the remaining amount.