Four Gujarat cops on run in extortion case held

Four Gujarat policemen, who had been on the run in an extortion case since April this year, were on Monday arrested by the ACB here after they turned themselves in, officials said.

The four personnel, who all have been suspended, were wanted for allegedly extorting Rs 30.50 lakh from a garage owner for not booking him on charges of forgery and cheating for allegedly changing the chassis number of a bus which he had bought in auction of vehicles that were sold for non-payment of loans by their owners.

While one of the accused, police inspector ND Chaudhary was arrested soon after he surrendered before a special court, police sub-inspector HM Gohil and constables Gopal Bharwad and Bhagu Bharwad were picked up after they turned themselves in before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), officials said.

An FIR had been registered against the four police personnel at Sarthana police station in Surat on April 4.

They were booked under charges of extortion and wrongful confinement under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act after an inquiry nailed them for allegedly extorting Rs 30.5 lakh from the garage owner, Irshad Pathan.

The case was handed over to the ACB.

According to officials, inspector Chaudhary and three others had detained Pathan on the basis of a complaint filed by two persons.

However, as he was freed by Sarthana police without registering any FIR, the complainants approached senior police officers who ordered an inquiry, officials said.

While the four police personnel were suspended, Pathan was also booked for offences related to forgery and cheating.

While on run, the inspector had approached the supreme court for a pre-arrest bail, which was rejected. The apex court had granted him a time of 15 days to surrender himself.

Similarly, anticipatory bail pleas of three other police personnel were rejected by a local court.