Bengaluru: Earlier in December, two fabricators approached a mobile shop owner in Kunigal in Tumakuru district with an offer to exchange his black money with notes of new denomination for a 30 per cent commission.
However, Jaffer and Bhaskar had no plans of going ahead with the deal. They were instead planning to rob the shop owner Gangadhar. To pull of this job, they had roped in Sub-Inspector Mallikarjun.
The duo met Gangadhar at 8th Mile Road in Peenya. He was carrying Rs. 35.5 lakh in demonetised currency. At the meeting point, Mallikarjun and four constables from Kalasipalya police station showed up and identified themselves as cops. They asked Gangadhar to furnish documents for the cash. When he failed to do so, they grabbed the money and fled.
The policemen were confident that Gangadhar would not file a complaint. However, Gangadhar did just that. He approached the Peenya police.
Initially, the police thought that he had been duped by some criminals posing as cops. However, they followed the leads given by Gangadhar who had noted the name on the badge worn by the sub-inspector. He also gave them Jaffar’s mobile phone number.
On analysing the call record details of the phone, police learnt that Jaffar was in constant touch with PSI Mallikarjun. Further investigation revealed that PSI Mallikarjun was present at the crime scene at the time of the robbery.
When questioned, Mallikarjun claimed that Jaffar was in his custody. However, when confronted with evidence, Mallikarjun confessed to the crime. He revealed the names of the four constables who had accompanied him.
The inspector of Kalasipalya station has been suspended for negligence.