Three FIRs against ACP, inspectors on bribery charge
Bengaluru: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered three FIRs against CCB Assistant Commissioner of Police Prabhushankar M and inspectors Ajay R M and Niranjan Kumar, who have been suspended over corruption charges.
The officers are accused of receiving huge kickbacks from tobacco dealers to let them operate during the earlier period of the lockdown when it was illegal to sell all kinds of tobacco products. The incident came to light after two tobacco dealers complained to City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.
Deputy Commissioners of Police Kuldeep Kumar R Jain (Crime 1) and Ravikumar K P (Crime 2) were then tasked with conducting an internal inquiry, which established that the accusations were right. The police subsequently raided the officers and recovered about Rs 30 lakh from them before they went absconding.
Fake masks case
The three officers are also accused of taking bribes from a shopkeeper named Suresh, whom they had raided for selling fake N95 masks. While a case was registered against Suresh at the Banaswadi police station after the raid, the officers allegedly promised to absolve him of the accusation in exchange for money. The cases in the tobacco extortion were registered at the Cottonpet police station.
The FIRs were registered on the orders of DGP Praveen Sood, said a senior police officer. While Prabhushankar and Ajay are named in all the three FIRs, Kumar is listed in just one. Prabhushankar has already obtained anticipatory bail in the extortion cases.