Policeman accused of extorting money

The parents of a minor girl were forced to borrow money on interest to fulfil the purported demands of a Delhi Police sub-inspector for sparing them from being booked in a child marriage case and sent to jail. The policeman has been accused of having extorted Rs.30,000 from the parents.

The parents landed in trouble when on June 14 the girl called up the Police Control Room alleging that she was being forced by them to get married. Subsequently the local police reached the given address for an enquiry and learnt that the girl was not even 16 years of age. She had initially given her consent, but later refused to marry.

Subsequently Sub-Inspector Muneesh Kumar of the Ambedkar Nagar police station produced the girl before the Lajpat Nagar Child Welfare Committee stating that her parents were trying to get her married off. However, the next day, the parents appeared before the CWC and lodged a complaint against the policeman alleging that he had extorted Rs.30,000 by threatening to book them in a child marriage case. The sub-inspector allegedly told the parents that they would be jailed and the girl sent to Nari Niketan if they got her married.

The accused sub-inspector demanded Rs.50,000 from the parents or to accompany him to the police station. “A constable was asked by the sub-inspector to deal with the matter,” said a CWC order, adding that as alleged by the parents the matter was finally settled at Rs.30,000 and the amount paid to the constable. The parents claimed that they had to take loan from a money lender at a high rate of interest to make the payment.

Taking the allegations seriously, the CWC has referred the complaint to the Delhi Police Commissioner for an independent inquiry. The Committee has sought an action taken report from the police within a month.

The girl’s mother, whose husband is employed outside Delhi, has expressed apprehension that she could be harassed by the accused policemen for having reported the matter to the CWC.