Corrupt cop alleges investigating officer of Jayalalithaa's DA case framed him

CHENNAI: A Police Inspector who was found guilty of demanding and accepting a Rs 2 lakh bribe by a special court on Friday and sentenced to five years of jail time had argued in court that the PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act case against him was framed on the influence of Nallamma Naidu, who rose to prominence for being the investigating officer of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's Disproportionate Assets (DA) case.

The claim of the convict, Inspector DC Ruskin, was that the complainant in the DVAC (Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) case against him, LS Abinesh Babu, was a distant relative of Nallamma Naidu. Naidu had retired from service in 2001 and was serving as a special officer at DVAC when the Inspector was arrested in 2008, according to the defence.

"There were several cases against Abinesh Babu and most of the cases were closed on the influence of Nallamma Naidu. But, Inspector Ruskin refused to close the case against Abinesh Babu even after Naidu's demand. So, to take revenge, Naidu influenced DVAC to register a case against Ruskin," the Inspector's counsel argued.

The special court however held that there was no evidence to show that the said officer influenced the closure of the case against the complainant and pointed out that the recovery of chemical sprayed currency notes and subsequent phenolphthalein test and materials collected at the scene are sufficient to prove the demand and acceptance made by Inspector Ruskin and his sub-ordinate, who accepted the money on his behalf.

Inspector DC Ruskin was serving with the Chennai Police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) when he was arrested by the anti-corruption cops on December 17, 2008.

According to the prosecution, Ruskin demanded an amount of Rs 2 lakh as illegal gratification from Abinesh Babu for dropping further action and closing the cases as civil in nature, in a case registered by the CCB.

Abinesh Babu and a few others were booked in a property dispute case and as part of the anticipatory bail conditions, they were required to sign before the police.

According to the prosecution, the Inspector first demanded Rs 10 lakh and gradually settled for Rs 2 lakh. Not willing to pay the money, Abinesh approached the anti-corruption cops, who laid a trap.

Abinesh Babu was given currency notes smeared with phenolphthalein powder, and on the arranged day, Head Constable Mohan received the notes from Abinesh on the Inspector's behalf, after which DVAC arrested both of them.

The chargesheet in the case was filed in 2010, and the case came to a conclusion after 15 years. During the trial, all the defences put forth by Ruskin's counsel were rejected by the court and the Inspector was found guilty.

On his request for a lenient sentence, Special Judge S Priya noted, "This court did not find any reasonable circumstances to award a lesser sentence. At the same time, being an offence against society at large, imposition of appropriate punishment is necessary to have a deterrent effect." The Inspector was sentenced to undergo five years' imprisonment and was also slapped with a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

As the constable, Mohan, did not appear for trial despite the trial being underway for 15 years, the court split the case against him to be tried separately.

While Police Inspector Ruskin will be facing a jail term, the original complainant in the case, Abinesh Babu, was hacked to death in 2015 over a property dispute.

SPINNING STORIES

Complainant Abinesh Babu was a distant relative of Nallamma Naidu, whom the CCB had registered a case in a property dispute issue

Inspector Ruskin had initially demanded Rs 10 lakh to drop further charges and settled for Rs 2 lakh

With the intervention of DVAC, Ruskin was trapped with cash smeared with phenolphthalein powder

However, Ruskin argued that a case was foisted on him with the push of Naidu