Two cops suspended after video of them extorting money from shopkeepers goes viral

BENGALURU: City Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Wednesday ordered the suspension of two policemen after a Hoysala patrol vehicle was chased by the public for allegedly extorting money from shopkeepers in Bengaluru.

The suspended policemen are Rajagopalanagar police station ASI Ramalingaiah and Head Constable Prasanna Kumar. They were allegedly extorting money from shopkeepers and were caught red-handed by some citizens. Upon seeing people approaching them and capturing videos, the patrol squad escaped in their Hoysala vehicle.

Netizens had uploaded the video on social media and tagged the city police. The police commissioner, who had ordered a departmental investigation, suspended the two Hoysala beat officers of Rajagopalnagar police station.

Earlier, DCP-North Division, Saidulu Adawat, reacting to the video, said, “The Hoysala staff bought food and water bottle from a shop, which went viral on social media. But, we have not found anything about extorting from the shopkeeper. We are investigating. At present, the ASI and head constable have been suspended based on the Rajagopalanagar Police Inspector’s report.”.