IPS officer baggage ‘theft’: 2 declared not guilty after 7 yrs

CHENNAI: Two workers of a coffee shop in Chennai airport who were arrested for stealing an IPS officer’s baggage with Rs 6 lakh cash and other valuables were declared not guilty by a city court, seven years later. The court wondered why the accused did not even try to break open the suitcase for two days if they had stolen it and questioned the Airport police as to why no CCTV footage was added as evidence when the IPS officer in his oral testimony stated that he was shown a CCTV footage.

“To appease a senior officer, the Airport police framed two innocent persons as accused,” said advocate M Sekar, who appeared for S Raman and P Rani, who were arrested.

K Kabib, an Indian Police Service officer from Tamil Nadu serving in Manipur had arrived with his family from New Delhi to Chennai on December 24, 2014, around 10.30 pm. The family was carrying ten bags and had loaded them on two trolleys and was taking them to the parking area to load them on a friend’s car when one of the bags went missing. According to the prosecution, the possessions of the bag included Rs 6 lakh in cash, collection of silver, copper and bronze coins, bank and official documents and a spy pen.

Based on the IPS officer’s complaint, Chennai airport police arrested the two persons and ‘recovered’ the stolen bag. When the case came up for trial before Judicial magistrate, Alandur, the court noted that the case rests on circumstantial evidence.

While city police’s conviction record is not bragworthy, they had shot themselves in the foot by providing a substandard final report before the magistrate, even in a case related to their own fraternity.

Apart from pointing out discrepancies in the complaint of the IPS officer and his deposition during cross-examination, creating a doubt on the prosecution case, the court also noted that the witnesses included in the chargesheet were not reliable.

A man working as a parking attendant in airport at the time deposed before the court that he knew nothing about the case and signed in papers shown by the police. Another man, an airport taxi driver who was arrayed as witness for the observation mahazar prepared by the police, told the court that he does not know to read Tamil and he too signed in papers as police asked him to and that he was not aware of the document’s contents.

Judicial Magistrate R Vaishnavi held that the prosecution did not prove the criminal charges beyond reasonable doubt and held that the two persons arrested are not guilty.

Raman, then aged 19, was working as a tea master while Rani (32) was part of housekeeping staff. “After their release on bail, both had taken up menial jobs,” said advocate Sekar. Fortunately, for the two, they got bail within a month. “Police had arrested my clients in a zeal and could not back up their claims in court,” he said.