Goa police inspector suspended for allowing model Poonam Pandey’s semi-nude photoshoot at reservoir

The police have received six complaints about the shoot including some which have sought Pandey to be named as an offender

The Goa police have suspended a police inspector for allowing model Poonam Pandey organise a semi-nude photoshoot at a reservoir in Canacona earlier this year. Tukaram Chavan’s suspension was announced after the topless photos were uploaded on Instagram and triggered angry reactions from residents.

Model Poonam Pandey. (File photo)

A short video was also recorded at the site during the shoot which has prompted police to file a case against “unknown persons” under Indian Penal Code’s Section 294 (obscenity) amid much outrage.

The police have received six complaints about the shoot including some which have sought Pandey to be named as an offender.

Residents took to the streets and have threatened to call for a shutdown in the area against the police for allegedly facilitating the shoot.

Deputy police superintendent Nelson Albuquerque told protesters on Thursday that they have suspended the inspector and ordered an inquiry into the lapses that led to the photoshoot.

The police are likely to question Pandey and her husband, Sam Ahmed Bombay, over the shoot.

“We want to know how the Entertainment Society of Goa headed by Chief Minister [Pramod Sawant], which is the nodal agency of the shootings in Goa, gave permission to shoot such vulgar video where the model appears almost nude.”

There was no immediate reaction from the government.