A police Sub-Inspector, B Shivakumar, posted with the Jayanagar police in Bengaluru, has been accused of extorting money from a man accused of murder.
PSI Shivakumar is the investigating officer in the murder case, Pratap was involved in.
The father of the murder accused, whose name is also Shivakumar and is the President of the Rajya Gorakshaka Samiti, said that he had filed a complaint with the Police Commissioner on December 12. In his complaint, Shivakumar said, he has alleged that the PSI had taken Rs 80,000, from Pratap, as well as his ATM card and pin number, after threatening to shoot him.
"He made withdrawals amounting to Rs 1.6 lakh in various ATMs. Also, another officer, Anthony, who had visited my son's home in Byadarayanahalli in Magadi Road saying that they were searching the premises, had seized gold, property documents and a few other items, which they said would be filed in the charge sheet. However, my advocate Hanumantharayappa told me that except for a bike, the charge sheet does not mention any other materials. So I submitted a complaint to the Commissioner along with the bank statement," said Shivakumar.
Pratap's father also claimed that when he questioned the Jayanagar Inspector regarding the discrepancy in the chargesheet, the police told him that they had not seized any of those items.
Pratap was arrested on charges of murdering a 26-year-old man named Yogesh.
Reacting to the allegations Pratap's father has made, DCP (South) Lokesh Kumar, said that he had not received any formal complaint in this matter.
"If a complaint is lodged, an inquiry will be initiated... The father had approached the Jayanagar police to help him get his son out of the situation. When they refused, he has accused the PSI of taking the money. The Rs 1.6 lakh was withdrawn by Pratap's maternal uncle," DCP Lokesh Kumar added. He also said that PSI Shivakumar was still on active duty, and any action against him would be taken only after an official complaint is filed.
The Jayanagar Inspector told TNM that the discrepancy regarding items in Pratap’s house was the result of confusion within Shivakumar’s family. "Shivakumar, who is accusing the PSI, has two wives. Pratap is the son of his first wife. Pratap's maternal uncle, Purushottam has been taking care of Pratap and his mother, who is sick. When the chargesheet was filed, we handed over Pratap's belongings to Purushottam. Since Pratap and his father do not have a good relationship, Shivakumar did not know that his son's belongings had been returned. Shivakumar had approached me to help his son get out of jail and since the chargesheet makes a strong case against Pratap, he has made such allegations against the PSI," he said.
Despite several attempts to contact him, Purushottam was not available for comment.
According to earlier reports, the victim, Yogesh was living with his sister in Jayanagar 6th Block. Yogesh's sister had filed a missing person's complaint with the Jayanagar police on July 21, stating that Yogesh had not come home since July 19.
The police checked Yogesh's call details and found that he was in constant touch with a woman from Mysuru. Upon checking the woman's call details, the police found that she, in turn was in close contact with the accused Pratap, a report by the Deccan Chronicle states.
When the police questioned the woman, she revealed that she had become friends with Yogesh through Facebook, which Pratap did not like. She had also told the police that Pratap had warned Yogesh many times, the DC report says.
When Pratap was arrested on July 28, Pratap is said to have confessed to committing the murder after kidnapping Yogesh and taking him to a farm house in Atthigere with the help of his friends. At the farmhouse, they allegedly killed him by hitting him with an iron rod and buried his body there, the report adds.
(This story was first reported by Suvarna News)