PANJIM: The Goa Police have been caught again on the wrong foot for sullying the image of Khaki. Three cops from the Traffic Cell have been suspended allegedly on bribery charges.
Lady Assistant Sub inspector Samina Salgaonkar and head constable Surendra Mhamal of Traffic Cell Anjuna and presently working at Traffic Cell, Panjim and head constable Nilesh Talkar of Traffic Cell Anjuna and presently posted at Margao have all been placed under suspension with immediate effect and have been directed to report to the PI of the Traffic Education Cell with immediate effect.
Sources in the police department revealed that the trio was in the news after videos of them allegedly extorting money from tourists and motorists were produced by the so-called ‘citizen journalist’, who had repeatedly called the trio and had demanded Rs 15 lakh and threatened to expose them.
Sources revealed that the (hunters) had become the hunted when the person, who had captured the scenes on camera, threatened to post them on social media and allegedly demanding money from the cops if they wanted him not to go ahead.
It is learnt that the issue was then brought to the notice of the top brass of the department who told the ‘stained’ cops not to buckle down, but instead file a police complaint against the unknown accused for demanding money from the police.
When an FIR was filed, the police zeroed down on the accused, who produced all the videos of cops demanding money along with the conversations and chats which he had with the trio and the senior officer.
However, the new SP Rahul Gupta took over the charge, an inquiry was conducted into the incident and the cops have been suspended after corroborative evidence was produced before the cops by the so-called ‘citizen journalist’.
Traffic cops have been in the news for the wrong reasons for harassing tourists and motorists and the issue has rocked the Goa Legislative Assembly in the past where legislators cutting across party lines have hit out at the men in uniform for unnecessarily harassing tourists.