Ballia (UP), Jul 25 (PTI) Taking a strict action over extortion from truck drivers in Narhi area on the Bihar border, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday transferred the Ballia superintendent of police and additional SP and suspended the deputy SP, Sadar.
Earlier in the day, a raid was conducted in the area and 18 people, including two police personnel, were arrested while two others suspended, officials said.
A vigilance inquiry of the properties of deputy SP Sadar, Narhi police station SHO and police outpost in-charge has also been ordered, according to a statement issued by the government.
After the revelation of illegal collection of money from vehicles by police personnel on the Bihar border, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken strict action with zero tolerance policy, the statement said.
Taking note of it, Ballia Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma and Additional SP Durga Prasad Tiwari have been transferred and put on waiting list while DSP, Sadar Shubh Soochit has been suspended, it said.
Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Azamgarh zone) Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that several complaints of extortion by policemen along the border were received by Additional Director General of Police (Varanasi zone) Piyush Mordia.
DIG Krishna said that during the raid, two policemen involved in extortion were apprehended while three others managed to escape, and added that 16 middlemen were also taken into custody.
Krishna said the extortion gang collected Rs 500 from each vehicle.
It is estimated that about 1,000 vehicles cross the border each night, highlighting the extent of the illegal operation, he added. PTI COR CDN ABN KVK KVK
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