Around a month after five Chandigarh police constables were booked for rape and sexually harassment of a minor girl, two other constables from the UT force have been booked for molesting and extortion money from a Panjab University student and a companion of hers.
Both the cops - Anil and Kuldeep Singh, posted with the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) here - were placed under suspension on Sunday after registration of the case on Saturday night.
Though the police nabbed the two cops in a trap planned with the victims, it later apparently sought to hide the matter by not mentioning it in the media briefings. Sources told HT that the two accused were arrested on Saturday night as they had molested the young woman and extorted money and jewellery from the couple, threatening to disclose their relationship to their families. The two cops were remanded to judicial custody on January 26, after the jewellery extorted from them was recovered from their possession.
The matter started a week ago, when the two constables 'caught' the couple at Shanti Kunj in Sector 16 on January 20 during routine patrolling. Threatening them with 'exposing' their love affair, the cops took `200 from them and also the silver earrings of the woman besides noting down her mobile phone number. Then, as per the complaint filed by the victims, constable Anil made several calls to the woman, forcing her to get into physical relations with both cops. Anil also told her that she should pay `5,000 or else they would get a case registered against both of them, it is alleged.
Finally, the harassed woman and her friend approached inspector Dilsher Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Sector 17. As part of a trap, constable Anil was called by the woman near the Sector-43 bus terminus with the bait of the `5,000 he had sought. He was arrested and later his associate, Kuldeep, was apprehended too, said the police.
{{/usCountry}}Finally, the harassed woman and her friend approached inspector Dilsher Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Sector 17. As part of a trap, constable Anil was called by the woman near the Sector-43 bus terminus with the bait of the `5,000 he had sought. He was arrested and later his associate, Kuldeep, was apprehended too, said the police.
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Covering the black sheep
Although the two constables were arrested in a planned trap by the UT police after the complaint, in a bid to avoid embarrassment, the Chandigarh police preferred not to send details of the case registered against two cops for harassing a woman and extorting money from her. The police always sends detail of cases registered in the everyday media releases, but avoided sending the details of the case registered on January 25 night. Media briefings on January 26 and 27 also did not mention the case, which has eventually come out.