Top Police Officers Among 9 Arrested In Assam Extortion Case

An IPS officer and a DSP were arrested on Monday in connection with an extortion case in Assam's Bajali district, taking the total number of apprehended people to nine, an official said.

Director General of Police GP Singh had on Friday said that the case was registered after receiving a complaint of "demand for money by some personnel of Bajali" district in the first week of August.

The then-superintendent of police (SP) of Bajali was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, while a search operation was also conducted in his residence on Sunday night, the official said.

The deputy superintendent of police (DSP), who was named in the original FIR lodged by the CID last week, was also arrested.

With the latest arrests, the number of accused persons held in the case has gone to nine, he said.

Among those already in custody are an Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), her husband, and four other policemen, all posted in Bajali district. One civilian was also held in the case.

Those arrested in the extortion case were being interrogated by top police officers, the official said.

The arrests were made in connection with the CID case registered on Thursday initially against seven police personnel of Bajali, including the DSP and two sub-inspectors.

The now-arrested Bajali SP was transferred out of the district immediately after the complaint was lodged.

Though the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption unit could not succeed in laying a trap, the case was filed after it was found to be "prima facie true", the DGP had said last week.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that the DGP has been given full authority to act against any personnel found to be abusing the public in any manner.

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