‘Pay Rs 5 lakh or he goes to jail’: 4 UP cops booked for extortion

Four police personnel, including a sub-inspector, have been booked in Bijnor for allegedly demanding a Rs 5 lakh bribe in exchange for releasing a man detained from his residence in Haryana in connection with a theft case.

The alleged bribery came to light after an audio recording of the demand surfaced on social media. Following this, senior police officials ordered a preliminary inquiry into the matter. After it found substance in the allegations, Bijnor Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar suspended all four police personnel, posted at the Sahanpur police outpost under Nazibabad police station, and ordered the registration of an FIR against them.

The complaint was filed by Amjad Majidi, a former pradhan of Pathargarh village and a resident of Panipat in Haryana. Sub-Inspector Kulveer Singh, Head Constable Vijaypal and Constables Gaurav and Upendra have been booked on charges of extortion and Prevention of Corruption Act.

They are currently absconding, said Circle Officer, Bijnor, Sunil Kumar Singh. According to police, Majidi alleged that four men arrived at his home on the intervening night of November 11 and 12. When he stepped outside, he claimed, they introduced themselves as personnel of the UP Police from Bijnor and told him that they had come to arrest his nephew, Hamza, who was wanted in a case of attempt to murder and another case related to illegal tree felling in a forest.

Three personnel — Gaurav, Vijaypal and Upendra — were in plain clothes while Kulveer was in police uniform. The family then called Hamza and asked him to come outside. When he arrived, police personnel allegedly began pushing and manhandling him before forcibly attempting to put him into their private vehicle.

Majidi said he pleaded with them to release his nephew, assuring them that he would produce Hamza whenever he was called for questioning. However, the personnel allegedly refused and asked him to accompany them towards Uttar Pradesh, saying they would discuss the matter after crossing the Haryana.

The complainant said he followed the police vehicle in his own car. “Before reaching Kairana, the policemen stopped their vehicle and demanded Rs 5 lakh to take back Hamza. When I said I couldn’t arrange such a large sum, they asked me to visit the Sahanpur police outpost with the money and warned that Hamza would be sent to jail otherwise,” the complainant alleged to the police.

Majidi later visited the Sahanpur outpost with two associates, where the accused personnel allegedly reiterated their demand for Rs 5 lakh. They also threatened to implicate Hamza in the case in such a manner that he would not even get bail from the High Court if the amount was not paid, the complainant alleged.

One of Majidi’s associates secretly recorded the conversation on his mobile phone. The complainant subsequently brought the matter to the attention of senior police officers.