Police officer and home guard in Vellore suspended for bribery

The Vellore Police Commissioner on Friday issued a suspension order against a Pallikonda police constable and a Home Guard personnel for demanding and accepting bribes from trucks at the Pallikonda toll plaza on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) on the outskirts of Vellore.

According to police, 28-year-old constable K. Sankar and 25-year-old home guard V. Naveen were suspended by Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan under the Tamil Nadu Police Disciplinary and Appeals Rules, 1955. Constable Sankar was transferred to Pallikonda only a month ago after serving in the district CB-CID division.

Police said that constable Sankar along with home guard Naveen were on night duty at the toll plaza on the highway on July 25 when the duo apparently demanded and received around Rs 100 from drivers of trucks, including those carrying essential goods at the toll plaza. The video of the incident, which went viral on social media platforms, prompted the district police to take action against them.

Police said that night patrols at the toll plaza are carried out by a police team led by the sub-inspector as per regulations. However, on Thursday evening, the two were on patrol.

A subsequent investigation by the district police found the duo guilty and a suspension order was issued.

This is the third suspension since May, when the Katpadi police superintendent was suspended for misbehaving during a police training session while intoxicated at VIT. Another incident took place on June 18, when a Gudiyatham town police constable was suspended for assaulting a pani puri vendor in the town.