Two police head constables suspended for holding man hostage over graft complaint

According to police, Kumar’s brother Kaushalendra Kumar was arrested in May with illicit substances by the narcotics cell of police, following which the two head constables demanded ₹10 lakh

NEW DELHI

The incident took place on July 3 and an FIR was registered on July 7 (Getty Images)

Two head constables of Delhi Police were booked and suspended for allegedly holding a 35-year-old man against his will in a car for three hours, when a team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had come to catch them red-handed taking a bribe from the man, according to police officials aware of the matter.

A senior police officer said the incident took place on July 3 and an FIR was registered on July 7. The two personnel were identified as Praveen Saini and Ravindra Dhaka, who were posted in the narcotics cell. The victim was identified as Arun Kumar, a resident of north Delhi.

According to police, Kumar’s brother Kaushalendra Kumar was arrested in May with illicit substances by the narcotics cell of police, following which the two head constables demanded ₹10 lakh for helping his brother. Kumar approached the CBI, who asked him to help them catch the duo red-handed.

On July 3, the duo asked Kumar to meet them near the Maurice Nagar police station, and he duly reached the spot around 1pm, carrying ₹4 lakh, his mobile phone and a recorder given to him by CBI, according to the FIR that was accessed by HT.

“When I reached, I called Dhaka and he asked me to come sit in car in which Saini was already present. They took me towards the police colony and asked for ₹3 lakh. They saw the CBI team standing nearby and started driving around,” Kumar said in his complaint.

He alleged the duo slapped him and threw the bag containing the cash on the road. After frisking him, they found the recorder and then assaulted him. They threw the recorder and his SIM card, finally letting him go around 4.15pm, near Brittania Junction bus stand.