Four Kerala cops booked for robbery, hushing up hawala case denied bail
With the cancellation of the bail plea, police sources said the accused cops could be arrested soon.
With the cancellation of the bail plea, police sources said the accused cops could be arrested soon.
With the cancellation of the bail plea, police sources said the accused cops could be arrested soon.
Wayanad: The Wayanad Principal Sessions Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail applications of four policemen from the Vythiri police station in the hawala theft scam in which the accused allegedly siphoned off unaccounted money after threatening the racketeers.
With the cancellation of the bail plea, police sources said the accused cops are likely to be arrested and face criminal proceedings.
The police personnel involved in the crime are Vythiri Station House Officer CR Anilkumar, additional sub-inspector Bineesh, and Senior Civil Police Officers Abdul Shukkoor and Abdul Majeed.
According to the prosecution, the accused officers not only concealed the seizure of hawala money but also threatened and assaulted the individuals involved in the illegal transaction.
Delivering the verdict, Kalpetta Principal and Sessions Court Judge E Ayoob Khan observed that the police officers do not deserve anticipatory bail, as granting it would send a wrong signal to the public. The court further noted that there was a high possibility of the accused influencing the witnesses, given their official positions. District Public Prosecutor Adv M K Jayapramod appeared for the prosecution.
Based on the report submitted by Wayanad District Police Superintendent Taposh Basdumatari, DIG (North Zone) Rajpal Meena had earlier suspended the four cops from service.
The alleged incident took place on September 15, when the Vythiri police seized ₹3.37 lakh from a person at Chundel who had brought the money to hand over to two Malappuram natives. Two Kalpetta natives had withdrawn the cash through a mule account.
After seizing the money, the cops told the man from Chundel that he would be called in to the police station for an inquiry, but he heard nothing from them. Suspecting that he would be cheated of the money, he filed a complaint with the district police chief, which led to an internal inquiry that exposed the crime.
The accused policemen are charged with various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha (BNS) for theft, intimidation and causing physical harm.
Another accused, MM Riyas, 41, a native of Vattavayal near Vythiri, who had colluded with the policemen to execute the crime, was arrested recently by a team headed by Crime Branch DySP Praveen Kumar.