Patna: Four police personnel from the Pakribarawan excise police station in Nawada district were arrested on Friday for allegedly kidnapping a man and extorting money from his family, an official confirmed on Saturday.
The arrested personnel include two assistant sub-inspectors — Sujit Kumar and Dilip Kumar — and two home guard jawans, Ravinder Kumar and Gulshan Kumar.
According to the complaint filed by Pintu Kumar Yadav of Narwada village in Jamui, his elder brother Santosh Kumar left home in his car around 1pm on April 23 but did not return. Later that evening, around 7.30pm, Santosh called his family claiming he had been kidnapped and a ransom of Rs 5 lakh was demanded for his release. Pintu rushed to Nawada with relatives and Rs 2 lakh. He alleged that Rs 1.5 lakh was extorted from him at the Pakribarawan excise police station in exchange for the release of his brother and the vehicle.
The incident came to light after Pintu lodged an FIR at Jamui police station. Police investigation revealed that Santosh was detained by the excise personnel on suspicion of transporting illegal liquor. Instead of following due procedure, the officers allegedly used the situation to demand and extort money. During a search at ASI Dilip’s residence, police recovered Rs 1.5 lakh in cash. Santosh’s car was also seized.
Jamui SP Vishwajeet Dayal confirmed the arrests and said a thorough investigation is under way to determine if more personnel are involved. He added that several similar complaints of extortion against excise police staff have been received earlier.
