KOCHI: In a dramatic turn of events, Kochi City police detained four cops, including a CI-ranked officer, from Karnataka and booked them for illegal confinement and bribery on Wednesday evening.
Officers Sivaprakash, Vijayakumar, Sandesh and Sivanna from Whitefield CEN Police Station in Bengaluru, who had come to Kochi in connection with a probe into a Rs 26-lakh cyber fraud case, were later released on the assurance of a DSP-ranked officer from Karnataka that they will cooperate with the Kochi police’s probe. The officers have been asked to appear for interrogation at Kalamassery police station on August 16.
It all began on Wednesday afternoon after two women, one of them an advocate, approached Kochi City Deputy Police Commissioner S Sasidharan with a complaint. They alleged that two youths from Kumbalangi, Akhil Alby and Nikhil Joseph, had been taken into custody by a four-member police team from Bengaluru on Tuesday evening. Later, Akhil had contacted his fiancée, the other complainant, and said the officers demanded Rs 5 lakh – they first sought Rs 25 lakh and later lowered the amount – to release him.
“I told Akhil’s fiancée to contact him. Akhil picked up the call and said they were in Kalamassery and that he had handed over Rs 95,000 to the policemen. He said the team will be moving to Bengaluru soon,” Sasidharan said.
Impersonators’ hand suspected at one point
“To ensure the men did not proceed further, I directed Akhil’s fiancée to tell him that his relatives will bring the amount demanded by the officers to the Nedumbassery area,” he said. However, when he learnt that Nikhil’s family had already given Rs 3 lakh to the policemen, Sasidharan began suspecting the involvement of a gang of impersonators.
“When enquired, the Palluruthy police said a police team from Bengaluru had visited the police station on Tuesday and reported their arrival in the area as part of a probe. However, I feared some impersonators had cheated even our policemen,” he said.
Sasidharan passed on the information to the SHO of Kalamassery police station to intercept the vehicle. He also informed the Nedumbassery SHO about the incident. The Whitefield police officers were intercepted on the NH stretch at Parambayam by evening.
“We traced the Innova Crysta parked on the NH at Parambayam between Aluva and Nedumbassery. We found Rs 3.95 lakh in the vehicle,” Sasidharan said. Besides Akhil and Nikhil, Malappuram native Noushad, another suspect in the fraud case, was also in the car.
“On suspicion, we took the car and passengers to Kalamassery station. After recording their statements, a case for illegal confinement and extortion was registered on Thursday morning,” Sasidharan said.
Since the offences are punishable by up to seven years in jail, the Kochi police did not initiate arrest and remand procedures.
A DSP-ranked officer from Karnataka later reached Kalamassery station and met Sasidharan. By Thursday afternoon, the four officers along with Akhil, Nikhil and Noushad left for Bengaluru by road.
“A notice was served under CrPC Section 41 to ensure the officers remain available during further probe. Since the Bengaluru police have been informed, we hope disciplinary action will be initiated against the four officers who took a bribe,” Sasidharan said.
Meanwhile, Suchithra M C, Akhil’s counsel, said Akhil and Nikhil were not arraigned in the case registered in Bengaluru. “They are just suspects. They are not aware of the case. They work in Kochi and were not involved in criminal cases before,” she said.