On hunt for drug peddlers, city police nab 2 cops with ganja

Chennai: The special team of Kilpauk police nabbed a 39-year-old man named Dilip Kumar of JJ Nagar at Ayanvaram based on a tip-off on Saturday night and one kg ganja was seized from him.

Inquiries revealed that he received the contraband from a railway police constable named Sakthivel (28), who had been posted at the Chennai Central railway police station.

Sakthivel of Pananthope railway police quarters was secured by Kilpauk police and he reportedly admitted that he stole the ganja from the contraband seized from smugglers at Chennai Central recently.

“He took a portion of the contraband without the knowledge of the senior officials before it was weighed and brought it home,” said police.

Since Sakthivel wanted to sell the ganja, he allegedly informed his roommate Selvakumar, another police constable posted at the cybercrime wing at the police headquarters, to look for buyers.

Selvakumar informed his friend Dilip Kumar, who is into real estate, and the latter agreed to buy it for Rs 7,000. However, Dilip Kumar was caught by Kilpauk police and the involvement of the two police personnel also came to light.

An official told DT Next that all three would be remanded and added that the process to suspend the police personnel would be initiated. Police said Dilip Kumar too is a son of a policeman, who died while in service a few years ago, and Dilip Kumar’s brother has been working as an office assistant at the railway police. “Dilip Kumar befriended Selvakumar when he visited his brother at the Pananthope police quarters,” said police.

No offender can escape our radar, says Addl CoP

Commenting on the arrest of policemen for ganja peddling, Additional Commissioner (South) N Kannan told DT Next that the city police’s information system has been strengthened in such a way that no offender, particularly those dealing the psychotropic substances, can escape police radar.

“We get specific inputs and we act upon it. In this case, we knew about the cops’ involvement after the first person was nabbed, but we pursued the case and arrested both policemen. Dealing with psychotropic substances is a serious crime and policemen’s involvement in such acts will be taken even more seriously,” said the official.