The Acting Officer-in-Charge of the Sainthamaruthu Police Station and a police constable have been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over an alleged Rs. 20,000 bribe.
The arrests stem from a case involving a suspect taken into custody by Sainthamaruthu police on August 14 for allegedly possessing 70 milligrams of heroin. The suspect was due to be produced before court the following day.
Charge sheet offered in place of a B report
Investigators allege the Acting OIC, a Police Inspector, offered not to submit the facts of the case through a formal B report, and to proceed instead solely by way of a charge sheet on the alleged heroin possession. He is alleged to have demanded Rs. 20,000 from the suspect in return.
A B report is the document through which police place the facts of an investigation before a magistrate, and it shapes how a case proceeds.
The suspect agreed to the demand, and arrangements were made for the money to be handed over on Monday, August 17, after court proceedings concluded.
Constable sent to collect the money
The Acting OIC had left the station on official duties by the time the payment was due, and a police constable allegedly went to collect the money on his instructions, Daily Mirror reported.
CIABOC officers arrested the constable while he was allegedly accepting the Rs. 20,000. The Acting OIC was arrested afterwards, based on information uncovered during the investigation.
Both officers had recently been assigned to the Sainthamaruthu Police Station. They were taken to the Kalmunai Police Station under CIABOC custody.
Further investigations are underway.
