2 police commandoes arrested on assault, bribery charges

Nagpur, Jan 27 (UNI) Two commandoes of the city police have been arrested for assaulting a motorcycle-borne man after catching him speaking on a mobile telephone while riding the vehicle.

The duo had also allegedly demanded and taken Rs 5,000 from the motorcycle rider in lieu of not initiating any action against him.

The two commandoes have since been suspended.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Suresh Mekala told UNI that the commandoes, identified as Shailesh alias Ravi Bhaskar Masram (25) and Chintaman Patiram Kudmethe (37), caught Abhishek Girendra Narayan (32), a resident of Bokaro (Jharkhand), when he was speaking on the mobile while riding a motorcycle in Ramdaspeth area yesterday afternoon.

After stopping Narayan, they threatened to initiate action unless he paid up a bribe. Narayan, however, refused to pay up following which the two policemen beat him up and forced him to pay Rs 5,000.

Narayan lodged a complaint with the police and Masram and Kudmethe were arrested, Mr Mekala said.

Police Commissioner S P S Yadav informed that Masram and Kudmethe had been suspended as they had been found ''misusing their official authority''.

UNI