Cops booked for seeking Rs 7.5 cr as bribe to settle siblings’ dispute

CHENNAI: Two police officers, who allegedly sought a whopping Rs 7.5 crore as commission to settle a dispute between two brothers, were booked by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The two officers were identified as R Suresh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, district crime branch, Tirunelveli, and P Pattani, the inspector at Nazreth police station in Thoothukudi.

Suresh Kumar was working as DSP, Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi, and Pattani was the circle inspector of Eral and Sawyerpuram station when they allegedly demanded 10 per cent of the settlement amount of Rs 75 crore in May 2020.

According to the FIR, the brothers had a dispute about running partnership firms dealing with marine products and cold storage. When one of them approached Pattani in May 2020, he allegedly dragged the issue without registering the case. He then advised the complainants to meet DSP Suresh Kumar. Even after meeting the DSP, the complaint was not registered. Complaints from the other brother was also lodged with the same police officers.

Instead of registering FIR, the officers asked one of the two warring brothers to reach Eral police station on May 29, 2020. There, they asked him to pay Rs 75 crore to the other brother to settle the issue. The DSP also gave him a list and asked him to divide the property as given in that.

Then came the demand to pay up 10 per cent of the settlement amount, which worked out to Rs 7.5 crore, as commission. The two officers allegedly also told him that if he failed to agree with the settlement, they would not register a case on his complaints. Instead, they threatened to book him and his associates in false cases, the DVAC FIR said.

Finally, after court intervention, FIRs were registered based on complaints from both sides. But even after that, the officers failed to investigate the case, said the DVAC.

The matter came to the anti-corruption agency after the brother’s son filed a complaint, following which it registered the FIR in Thoothukudi.