Indian-origin UK cop pleads guilty to buying porn on duty

The homeowner had left the property and Maharaj was waiting there for an undertaker to attend. The member of the public subsequently made a formal complaint and in September the matter was referred to the IOPC.

A serving Indian-origin officer of Scotland Yard has pleaded guilty to fraud after he purchased pornography using a member of the public’s cable television while he was on duty in 2018, officials probing police conduct said on Friday.

Constable Avi Maharaj, 44, has pleaded guilty at the Westminster Magistrates Court to one count of fraud and is due to be sentenced August 6. (File photo for representation)

Constable Avi Maharaj, 44, has pleaded guilty at the Westminster Magistrates Court to one count of fraud and is due to be sentenced August 6. He denied making the purchase during investigations by the Independent Office for Public Condict (IOPC).

Maharaj, who is based in Earlsfield in the London borough of Wandsworth, was on duty following the death of a child at the property in February 2018, when he purchased access to pornographic channels using the account of the property owner.

The homeowner had left the property and Maharaj was waiting there for an undertaker to attend. The member of the public subsequently made a formal complaint and in September the matter was referred to the IOPC.

“We found evidence that indicated PC Maharaj was the only person present at the property when the purchases, which cost £25.96, were made. We also found evidence that suggested PC Maharaj may have falsified his attendance log to cover his actions”, IOPC said.

“Our investigation showed that PC Maharaj was the only person in the property who could have downloaded access to pornographic channels at the time the account was accessed…I am sorry that the family involved had to deal with this while also coping with the tragic loss of their child.”