Six policemen, including the outpost in-charge of Malviyaganj, have been suspended for allegedly keeping with themselves the opium recovered from arrested contraband smugglers here, police said on Thursday.
SP Rural Area Siddharth Verma said, on November 11, constables Ashish, Rinku, Harishankar, Nishant and Vipin along with SI Akash Kumar laid siege to the opium smugglers in the Moosazhag area and nabbed them. Instead of handing them over to the Musazhag police, they brought them to Badaun, where a large quantity of opium was recovered from them, Which the policemen kept with them, he said. On the basis of a preliminary inquiry, six policemen, including the sub-inspector have been suspended, he added.
The matter was investigated by SP City Amit Kishore Srivastava on the instructions of IG Bareilly Range and a report was sent to the SSP, OP Singh, who later suspended them on the basis of the report which found them guilty.
Police said Kumar was suspended earlier also for the same reason, but the High Court had stayed his suspension and he was reposted in the district. The SSP has also set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the entire matter and it will be headed by SP Rural, Verma said, adding that the report will be submitted in 15 days.
Further action will be taken against the concerned sub-inspector and policemen, he added.
