In an embarrassment for the Bengaluru City Police, three police officials, including an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), have been suspended for allegedly taking bribes from tobacco dealers.

The three officers were allegedly cracking down on activities related sale of tobacco during the lockdown in Bengaluru city and, in turn, took bribes from the distributors in exchange for allowing to carry on with their operations.

The Hindu reported that the state Home Department suspended ACP Prabhushankar, who was working in the Frud and Misappropriation Wing in the CCB, after senior policemen had recovered Rs 25 lakh from him, which he had allegedly taken as a bribe. 

Two inspectors — Ajay and Niranjankumar — were suspended by City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao for allegedly colluding with the ACP rank officer. Deccan Herald reported these two inspectors were also posted in the same Economic Offences Wing of the CCB. A total of Rs 80 crore was allegedly collected as bribe by the two officers from five dealers, said the report.

The issue came to light reportedly after two such dealers, who had already paid the bribe, approached the City Commissioner of Police, to complain against the ACP. The DH report further said that the ACP was probed by his own reporting officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime-2) Ravi Kumar KP. The DCP, in his probe, found the allegations to be true.

The Hindu report said that this punitive action was preceded by a report prepared by the CCB to the state police chief Praveen Sood after they had recovered Rs 25 lakh from the ACP-rank officer accused of accepting the bribe. The paper quoted one senior policeman as saying the two inspections had collected the bribe allegedly at the behest of their senior officer and in return, got a share of the bribe amount.