ADGP Varanasi suspends 19 policemen for extortion: orders departmental inquiry

Varanasi, July 26: As many as 18 people, including two police officials, were arrested for allegedly extorting truck drivers at the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border in Ballia.

ADG Varanasi Zone Piyush Mordia suspended the entire staff of 19 police personnel of Narhi police station.

The ADG has ordered an internal departmental investigation against the suspended police officers.

The in-charge of Korantadih police outpost, Rajesh Kumar Prabhakar, and the entire staff of this police outpost, including two head constables and six constables, have also been suspended.

The ADG said they received information about a large-scale extortion by policemen at Bharauli border under Narahi police station. Five police teams from Varanasi and Azamgarh districts have been constituted and DIG Azamgarh range Vaibhav Krishna has been asked to help in the crackdown.

The joint team led by ADG searched Bharauli around 4 am.

In the raid, a police officer and 16 people involved in the scam were caught extorting money from truck drivers, while three police officers managed to escape, the ADG added.

Subsequently, the Korantadih outpost, where similar extortions were taking place, was raided. A policeman was arrested there, while a member of his gang managed to escape.

During interrogation, the arrested police officer said that they extorted at least Rs 500 from every truck entering UP from Bihar via the Bharauli border.Every night, money was extorted from around 1,000 trucks, i.e. around Rs 500,000 was extorted every night. After breaking down these activities, the contribution of policemen and middlemen in this nexus was ascertained.