Seven police officers of 3rd Battalion were suspended on Friday for their alleged unprofessional conduct with Sukesh Chandrashekhar, middleman in the AIADMK poll symbol bribery case, police said. Videos of the officers allowing him to roam in a mall in Bengaluru have emerged, which the police are verifying.
Seven officers including assistant sub-inspector Rajesh, head constables Jeevan and J. George, and constables Nitin, Keshav, Dharmendra and Pushpendra were suspended.
According to the police, the team was on duty to produce Sukesh in courts of Mumbai, Coimbatore and Bengaluru from October 7 to October 19. “He was supposed to be produced in a Mumbai court on October 9, in Coimbatore on October 12 and in Bengaluru on October 16. They were supposed to return to Delhi thereafter,” said Delhi Police chief spokesperson Deependra Pathak.
However, Mr. Pathak claimed that senior officers received information that the team’s conduct was inappropriate. “The team reached on Thursday and the information received stated that the officers behaved unprofessionally during the course of the tour and there was some element of malpractice. Immediately an enquiry was instituted,” he said.
On Friday, a video of the alleged officers allowing Sukesh inside a mall for ‘shopping’ and meeting associates in Bengaluru surfaced, which Mr. Pathak said, showed that there was some “substance” in the report received by the police, after which the officers were suspended. “The videos which have emerged are being examined. They can only be believed after cross-checking,” he said.
Police said the officers were expected to reach Delhi earlier after the last court hearing in Bengaluru but they were delayed, which prompted suspicion.
“An inquiry is on and it will be concluded most likely by Saturday. Further action will be taken accordingly,” he said.
