Inspector Turned As Criminal & Looted 25 Lak
In another shocking case of cop turning criminal, a police inspector in Coimbatore, who looted Rs 25 lakh cash from a Chennai-based businessman, has landed in jail and placed under suspension. P Dhanapalan, an inspector of suburban Kovilpalayam, allegedly teamed up with two others and carried out the well-planned robbery. On December 17, Vasavan, an entrepreneur from Ambattur industrial estate in Chennai, came to Coimbatore along with his friend, Ramachandran, to buy a property in the textile city. They got in touch with Sathyaraj, a real estate broker, who promised to get him a prime property in Kovilpalayam.Vasavan then went to a hotel in Kovilpalayam to meet with Sathyaraj and look up some more properties. Just as he was waiting in the hotel, the inspector, Dhanapalan, came in along with his accomplice, Jahir. He immediately began questioning Vasavan on his purpose of visit and grabbed his suitcase full of currency.
Vasavan was then shoved into a waiting omni van, and taken to the police station. A shocked Vasavan explained that he had no criminal intent and had come to Coimbatore only to buy property. But the inspector would not return his suitcase and asked him to leave the station or face arrest over some cooked-up charges. The next day, a desperate Vasavan approached the DSP of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, who asked him to lodge a complaint with the deputy inspector general of police as it was a case of robbery involving a police officer.
A probe was ordered and the inspector was interrogated and his house raided. "Initially, the inspector confessed to have taken only Rs 4 lakh and said that the remaining amount was with his gang members. However, a total of Rs 4.9 lakh was recovered from the inspector himself," said the Avinashi DSP, P Krishnaraj. According to police sources, P Dhanapalan was a habitual alcoholic, who frequently absented himself from duty and was warned even last week. Dhanapalan has been remanded in custody after being produced before a judicial magistrate. He has also been placed under suspension.
