2 cops suspended for replacing sand smuggler with another man

Two police personnel, including an inspector, were today suspended for reportedly felicitating the replacement of an alleged sand smuggler with another person in judicial custody, police said here.
Soolagiri Police Inspector Subash and S-I Rajendran were suspended on the orders of DIG (Salem) Vidya Kulkarni after the matter came to light, District Superintendent of Police S Kannammal said.
The missing accused, Ramesh, was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody after he was detained on March 27 along with three others for smuggling sand, he said.
The absence came to the notice when Ramesh's father Ramakrishnan came to Salem Central Prison to seek his bail. The prison officials found no one by the name in the connection, he said.

They reported the matter to higher officials. An inquiry found that the local police had replaced Ramesh with one Logesh and allowed the key accused to escape, he said.