7 cops sent to lines for assault, extortion

Kanpur: Five sub-inspectors and two constables, stationed at Maharajpur police station and its Sarsaul outpost, were sent to lines late on Wednesday night following the allegations of assault, extortion and intimidation. Several videos, showing two men accusing the personnel of misconduct, surfaced on social media. ACP Cantt Akanksha Pandey recorded the statements of both the victims and the accused policemen on Wednesday night. The initial investigation found all seven personnel guilty after which action was taken against them. The probe into the assault, extortion and threats continues.On Sept 13, SIs and constables from Maharajpur police station and Sarsaul outpost arrested 10 to 12 people for gambling, while several suspects escaped. On Sept 20 again, five people were detained for peddling drugs, three of whom were sent to jail. Subsequently, the personnel began secretly extorting money from the suspects involved in gambling and drug smuggling. Some individuals were brought to the police outpost, assaulted and being asked to pay money for release. Videos of two victims went viral. Taking a serious note of the videos, ACP Cantt Akanksha Pandey was assigned the investigation in the case. She recorded the statements of the complainants and the accused officers on Wednesday. The suspended police personnel included SIs Pradeep Kumar, Ashish Kumar, Vishnu Kumar, Ravi Shankar, Shailendra Singh and constables Bunty Kumar and Sultan Singh.