Chennai
Joint Commissioner (West) S Rajeswari confirmed that head constable Jayakanthan was placed under suspension after inquiries confirmed that he demanded money from the victim. “Further inquiry is on whether the inspector is involved in it,” said the official.
The 138-second-long audio, the phone conversation between the head constable and the bar owner, was circulated on WhatsApp on Sunday in which the constable begins the conversation by asking for a new phone when the bar owner says he could not hear the personnel properly.
Later, he says the present inspector has instructed him to collect the same bribe amount from bar owners as collected by the previous inspector. When the bar owner says that he had heard that the present inspector does not take money, the head constable is heard saying that no inspector is different and that he could not speak to the present inspector much since she is a woman.
The bar owner says Rs 24,000 per month is too much and asks him to reduce the bribe sum citing poor business due to COVID restrictions to which the cop asks him to come in person to talk to the inspector.
The bar owner inquires about the previous inspector and where he has been posted and the personnel says Egmore railway police station. The conversation ends after the bar owner says he would visit the station in two days.
Police sources said Rs 6,000 is collected from each Tasmac bar per month and since the caller was running four bars in Sembium station jurisdiction, he was asked to pay Rs 24,000.
Sources said the same person has also complained about the previous inspector to a senior officer, but later retracted it.
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