CHENNAI: The principal sessions court in the city on Friday dismissed the bail petitions of police inspector Mohammed Buhari and his accomplice Seenivasan in the case of extortion of Rs 40 lakh from a businessman.
The duo was arrested on August 4 and booked under Sections 126(2), 308(2) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the prosecution, Buhari, an inspector attached to the St Thomas Mount police station was part of the special team that investigated the 2024 murder of BSP leader K Armstrong and threatened to implicate the complainant in the murder case after a mobile number registered in the latter’s name surfaced during investigation.
The complainant maintained that he had no connection with the murder and had given the mobile number to advocate Mottai Krishnan, an accused in the murder case, in 2018. Krishnan was among the accused who remained absconding in the murder case.
The prosecution alleged that Buhari had extracted around Rs 35 lakh from the complainant over a period of time.
It further alleged that on August 2, Buhari threatened to implicate the complainant in an NDPS case and demanded another Rs 5 lakh. The money was allegedly handed over to Seenivasan on Buhari’s instructions, taking the total amount allegedly extorted to around Rs 40 lakh.
The court noted that CCTV footage was available and that the investigation was still at a nascent stage. Considering the gravity of the allegations and the amount involved, it dismissed the bail petitions.
Buhari was suspended from service following his arrest.