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Bengaluru police officers suspended after drug-peddling protection racket uncovered: Report
In Bengaluru, eleven police officers, including an inspector, were suspended after evidence linked them to a gang selling illegal sedative tablets.
Eleven police officers, including an inspector, have been suspended in Bengaluru pending a departmental inquiry after evidence emerged that they were collaborating with a gang selling sedative tablets around the west division.
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Inspector T Manjanna of Chamarajapete, head constable Ramesh, and several constables, namely Shivraj, Madhusudan, Prasanna, Shankar Belagali, and Anand, along with personnel from JJ Nagar, named Basavanagudi Gowda, Kumar, and another Anand, are accused of accepting regular “protection money” from peddlers, according to a report by The Hindu. The smugglers allegedly diluted sedative tablets and sold them illegally, targeting mostly students and young working professionals.
The racket was uncovered when RR Nagar police arrested six traffickers, including Salman, Nayazullag Khan, Nayaz Khan, and Taher Patel, on August 22 while distributing the tablets. Officers seized around 1,000 tablets that are banned from over-the-counter sale. During the investigation, police uncovered links between the peddlers and officers from the Chamarajapete and JJ Nagar stations.
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Assistant Commissioner at Kengeri Gate, Bharath Reddy, submitted a detailed report to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in this regard, said the report. The case was then reassigned to ACP Chandan of Vijay Nagar for an in-depth probe.
The inquiry revealed that these suspended officers not only collected protection money but also socialised with the peddlers, partying with them in addition to facilitating their illegal business, the report stated.
The scandal has embarrassed the city police force, which has been talking tough on drug networks, even as some of its own personnel may have been complicit.
Legally, these sedative tablets don’t fall under the more severe Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act due to their classification, restricting the legal tools available to officers. As a result, cases are being filed under Section 278 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which criminalizes selling a drug as another drug or misrepresenting a medical preparation.
