Eleven police personnel, including a police inspector, have been suspended for allegedly colluding with a gang of drug peddlers operating in the city’s West Division.
Chamarajpet Police Inspector T Manjanna, Head Constables Ramesh and Shivraj, Constables Madhusudan, Prasanna, Shankar Belagali, and Anand, along with JJ Nagar police personnel—Assistant Sub-Inspector Kumar, Head Constable Anand, Constable Basavan Gowda, and Constable Mahesh Kumar—are among those suspended.
The action follows the arrest of six peddlers, including Salman, Nayazullag Khan, Nayaz Khan, and Taher Patel, by RR Nagar police on August 22. The accused were caught selling prescription-only Tydol tablets as narcotics to students and young professionals. Around 1,000 tablets were seized during the operation.
"To our surprise, Salman claimed he had police support in selling the drugs. Initially we thought he was bragging to mislead us. However, close scrutiny of the mobile phones of Salman and his associates revealed that they were indeed in constant touch with the police personnel from Chamarajpet and JJ Nagar. Like police have their jurisdictions to operate, Salman and his gang operated in Chamarajpet and JJ Nagar limits. The cops in question knew their movements, joints where the drugs were sold, and so on,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) S Girish told TOI.
Investigations revealed that the arrested peddlers allegedly paid protection money of up to Rs 2 lakh every month to ensure smooth operations. Some police personnel are also accused of attending parties with the peddlers.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bharath Reddy of Kengeri Gate submitted a detailed report to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) West Division S Girish, following which the probe was handed over to Vijayanagar ACP Chandan. The inquiry reportedly confirmed the involvement of the suspended officers in shielding the peddlers.
City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh suspended Inspector Manjanna, while the other personnel were suspended by DCP Girish.
The case has embarrassed the city police, who have been vocal about cracking down on drug networks. Officials admitted that prosecuting such cases remains difficult, as the banned tablets do not fall under the NDPS Act. Instead, police have been booking cases under Section 278 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with misrepresentation of medical preparations.
The suspensions come at a time when the Karnataka government has pledged to make the state drug-free.