Inspector of Police Vasanthi of Nagamalai Pudukottai under Madurai Rural District Police has been booked for extortion of ₹10 lakh from a tailor.
After Madurai District Crime Branch registered a first information report against five persons, including the Inspector, on Tuesday, DIG (Madurai Range) N. Kamini placed her under suspension, according to Superintendent of Police V. Baskaran.
The tailor, K. Asrath, 33, of Sivaganga district lodged a complaint with the SP recently about snatching of a bag containing ₹10 lakh from a lodge in Nagamalai Pudukottai on July 5.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime against Women and Children Wing) Chandramouli investigated the complaint and submitted a report to the SP. “Based on the ADSP’s report, the DCB has registered a case,” Mr. Baskaran said.
Vasanthi, K. Palpandi and Kundupandi of Theni district and Ukkirapandi and Karthik of Silaman were booked under different sections of IPC for extortion, cheating, criminal breach of trust by public servant and criminal intimidation.
The complainant, who worked as a tailor in a company in Madurai, raised a loan of ₹10 lakh to set up a tailoring unit at Ilayangudi. While waiting at the lodge to raise more money through his brother, some of the accused men left him with a promise of bringing money. However, when Karthik and Pandi returned, a police vehicle arrived at the spot.
Karthik took Asrath’s bag containing the cash and handed it over to Inspector Vasanthi. When Asrath asked the Inspector to return his money, she reportedly threatened him saying that she would book him for ganja selling or gold smuggling. After taking all the three in her jeep, the Inspector dropped the tailor after travelling 500 metres. She took the other two with her.
She asked Asrath to come to the police station the next day, when he asked about his money. Later, he was asked over phone to come to Tallakulam.
“She then told him that there was no money, but only some notebooks. She threatened to put me behind bars for ganja selling,” Asrath said in his complaint.
