Kochi: Grade Sub-Inspector Mujeeb H of the Elamakkara police station, who was absconding after criminal cases were registered against him on charges of sexual harassment and extortion, surrendered before the police on Monday morning. He was taken into custody after he appeared at the same station where he was earlier posted.

The surrender comes after intense scrutiny and mounting pressure on the officer, against whom the Kochi City Police had registered two separate cases over allegations that he misused his position during a narcotics investigation. Police sources said Mujeeb decided to surrender after realising that arrest was unavoidable as the investigation team had already begun tracking his movements.

“We have detained him and are currently recording his statements. His arrest will be formally recorded in both cases, after which he will be produced before the court. Since the offences invoked are non-bailable, he is likely to be remanded in judicial custody,” a senior police officer said.

The police are also expected to seek his custody for detailed interrogation in the case and to determine whether more people may have been targeted in a similar manner.

Meanwhile, Mujeeb was placed under suspension following the submission of an internal inquiry report that reportedly confirmed the allegations raised by the complainants. The report was submitted to Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar.

The cases against Mujeeb stem from incidents reported in September 2025, during the course of an investigation under the NDPS Act. According to the complaints, the officer allegedly used information obtained during the probe to intimidate and exploit individuals connected to the case.

In the first case, a young woman from Kollam alleged that Mujeeb obtained her phone number from the call records of an accused person in the narcotics case. He allegedly contacted her repeatedly, demanded sexual favours, and threatened to implicate her in the drug case when she resisted his advances. Based on her complaint, police booked him under Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for outraging the modesty of a woman along with other relevant sections.

The second case involves a doctor from Pathanamthitta, who alleged that the SI threatened him to implicate him in the same drug case, after obtaining his contact number from the accused person’s call records and demanded ₹1.5 lakh to “clear” his name from the investigation. The police have charged Mujeeb under Section 308(2) of the BNS for extortion and Section 351(2) for criminal intimidation.

The police confirmed that statements from both complainants were already formally recorded and that the departmental inquiry against the officer was completed. The findings of the inquiry reportedly played a key role in the decision to suspend him from service even before his surrender.