Bihar: Five cops in Bhojpur nabbed for extortion

PATNA: Rohtas police arrested five police personnel posted at Hasan Bazaar police outpost under Piro subdivision in Bhojpur district on Monday midnight. They were allegedly involved in extorting money from truck drivers at Majhiaw checkpost on Ara-Sasaram state highway under Hassan Bazaar police outpost.
The arrested police personnel were identified as Rama Oraon, driver constable Ashish Kumar and home guard jawans Adalat Rai, Harishankar and Raghuvar.
They were handed over to Bhojpur police around 4pm on Tuesday. The Hassan Bazaar police then went to Bikramganj in Rohtas and arrested a tout named Mumtaz for allegedly conniving with unknown policemen and extorting money from truck drivers. Bikramganj police station shares border with Hassan Bazaar.
Mumtaz is a motor mechanic and is being interrogated, Bikramganj police station SHO RB Chaudhary said. All five were sent to jail after lodging an FIR against them with Hassan Bazaar outpost on Chaudhary’s written complaint.
Chaudhary said he had received direction from senior officers for taking action against those extorting money from truck drivers with connivance of policemen. “During raid, we went to the checkpost under Hassan Bazaar police station area and nabbed the five policemen of Bhojpur district while extorting money. All five were handed over to Bhojpur police,” he said.
Chaudhary said Rs990 was seized from their possession. He said a video of money extortion was handed over to Bhojpur police.
Piro SDPO Ashok Kumar Azad said all five were sent to jail on Tuesday. “The SI and constable would be suspended while recommendations would be made to remove the three home guards from service,” he said.
Bhojpur SP Sushil Kumar said the video submitted by Rohtas police had nothing to show that the policemen were taking money. “Bikramganj SHO didn’t mention anything about the video in the FIR. They were acting against a tout named Mumtaz, who had told one of their policemen that he helped the trucks in crossing the border,” he said.
The SP said a separate FIR was lodged against Mumtaz and unknown policemen in connection with the incident. “Nothing surfaced yet to prove he was in touch with Bhojpur policemen. Instead, he had received a call from a policemen in Rohtas,” he said, adding further investigation were going on.