

BENGALURU: Three persons, including a police constable, were arrested by the Sanjay Nagar police for allegedly abducting a student on the pretext of drug sale and consumption and attempting to extort money from him.
The accused were Puneeth, a head constable at the Mahalakshmi Layout police station, and police informants Arjun and Shivasagar. The police said that the accused had taken a student of a private college residing near Sanjay Nagar into custody on the pretext of involvement in drug sale and consumption.
They later allegedly kept him in illegal confinement in a room behind the Mahalakshmi Layout police station, threatened him, and demanded money. After the student agreed to pay, they released him. The victim discussed the matter with his family members and filed a complaint against the constable with North Division DCP Babasab Nemagouda.
An internal police inquiry confirmed that the offence had taken place. Subsequently, the victim lodged a formal complaint against all the three accused. The police then registered a case of kidnapping and extortion, arrested Puneeth, Arjun, and Shivasagar, and sent them to judicial custody, the police said. Following the incident, Constable Puneeth has been suspended from service for misuse of his official position and involvement in criminal activities.