In response to extortion activities targeting truck drivers in the Narhi area on the Bihar border, the Uttar Pradesh government has taken strict action by transferring the Ballia Superintendent of Police (SP) and Additional SP, and suspending the Deputy SP, Sadar. The crackdown followed a raid conducted earlier on July 25, which led to the arrest of 18 people, including two police personnel, and the suspension of two others, according to officials.
The government's statement also said a vigilance inquiry into the properties of the Deputy SP, Sadar, the Narhi police station SHO, and the police outpost in-charge. After the revelation of illegal collection of money from vehicles by police personnel on the Bihar border, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken strict action with zero tolerance policy, the statement said.
Senior police officials transferred amid extortion scandal
Taking note of it, Ballia Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma and Additional SP Durga Prasad Tiwari have been transferred and put on waiting list while DSP, Sadar Shubh Soochit has been suspended, it said. Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Azamgarh zone) Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that several complaints of extortion by policemen along the border were received by Additional Director General of Police (Varanasi zone) Piyush Mordia.
What did DIG say on the matter?
DIG Krishna said that during the raid, two policemen involved in extortion were apprehended while three others managed to escape, and added that 16 middlemen were also taken into custody. Krishna said the extortion gang collected Rs 500 from each vehicle. It is estimated that about 1,000 vehicles cross the border each night, highlighting the extent of the illegal operation, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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