Two Tamil Nadu cops suspended for selling evidence kept in police custody
India Today
Two police constables have been suspended in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram as they sold evidence kept in police custody for an investigation.
Two police constables have been suspended in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram for allegedly selling evidence that was kept in police custody for an investigation. The two cops, identified as Suresh and Kamalakannan, were found to have been involved in selling phones and valuables which were kept in police custody as evidence or for investigation.
District Superintendent of Police Ramanathapuram Thangadurai ordered the dismissal of both the police officers.
The incidents came to light when the CB-CID department was probing the death of a police officer, Ashok Kumar, who served in the Ramanathapuram Armed Forces, who allegedly died by suicide last year. Following his death, Kenikarai police had registered a case but Kumar's family moved court seeking a CB-CID probe into the matter.
During the investigation, the CB-CID police had asked the Kenikarai police to hand over the items related to the case. It was then found that Ashok Kumar's cell phone, which was kept in the custody of the police station, was missing.
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This raised suspicion in the minds of the investigating officers who sought the help of the Cyber Crime police to identify the missing phone. The Cyber Crime police then traced the stolen cell phone and found the person who was using it. On questioning him, the new owner of the phone said that he bought the mobile phone from a local cell phone shop in Ramanathapuram.
The CBCID police immediately questioned the mobile phone shopkeeper, who then confessed that two policemen from Kenikarai police station gave away the mobile phone for Rs 2,000. The shopkeeper said that both of them often brought and sold mobile phones like this.