4 cops held, dismissed for Rs 1.6L extortion with LS poll ruse

Four police constables were arrested and dismissed from service for allegedly extorting Rs 1.5 lakh from a jeweller by threatening to act against him under rules mandated by the model code of conduct in force for the April May Lok Sabha polls, a senior official said Tuesday.

The incident happened on Monday evening in Udgir town in Latur district, over 470 kilometres from here, the official added.

"Jeweller Sachin Balaji Channawar was on his way home with a bag containing Rs 6 lakh. The four constables stopped him en route and asked him about the details of the cash. They then threatened to take action against him under the Lok Sabha poll model code of conduct," he said.

"They extorted Rs 1.5 lakh from the jeweller who then approached the Latur Superintendent of Police with a complaint on Tuesday," the official said.

The four constables, identified as Shrihari Dawargave, Shyam Bade, Mahesh Khelge and Pandharinath Birle, were charged with robbery and extortion and arrested, he said.

They were later dismissed from service, the official added.

The model code of conduct, which is in force across the country since March 10 when Lok Sabha polls were announced, empowers police and other officials authorised by the Election Commission to check the antecedents of large amounts of cash in order to ensure it is not being used illegally for poll purposes.

However such kind of checking by authorities comes with a lot of safeguards to ensure the common citizen is not harassed.