5 police among 8 arrested for extortion

The Special Task Force (STF) has arrested eight people, including five policemen, on charges of extorting money from an alleged drug trafficker in Punjab's Patiala district, an official said today.
The accused allegedly "snatched" 300 gram of heroin and extorted Rs 8 lakh from the drug trafficker by posing as STF personnel in Fazilka last night, ADGP-cum-Chief STF and ADGP border range Harpreet Singh Sidhu, said here.
The accused police personnel were posted with the State Counter Intelligence (SCI) department, he said.
"SP STF (Mohali) Rajinder Singh Sohal received an information last light that a police party comprising counter intelligence personnel had snatched the drug from Narinder Singh and had also extorted Rs 8 lakh. The accused then released him," the ADGP said.

Sub-Inspector Sushil Kumar, Constable Gagandeep Singh posted with SCI Mansa; Head Constable Jarnail Singh and Constable Harjit Singh posted with SCI Mukatsar; and Sub- Inspector Sushil Kumar went to Lalru in Patiala, an area not in their jurisdiction, the officer said.
"They used their private cars and changed the vehicles' number plates. They neither informed nor took permission from their senior officers. They stopped the Narinder's vehicle in Lalru area posing as a STF team from Fazilka and took him forcibly towards Fatehgarh Sahib," he said.

The police officials first snatched the heroin and later extorted Rs 8 lakh by forcing him to call his friend in Chandigarh, Sidhu said, adding after getting the money and the drug they released him.

Three others Gagandeep Singh of Kharar, Sukhpreet Singh alias Harry from Bathinda district and Vakil Singh alias Kala from Mukatsar district are also among the accused, he said.
Sidhu said on finding the information reliable, a case under the NDPS Act and and different sections of the IPC was registered against them.
During interrogation, they admitted that they had also sold some heroin, he claimed.
Narinder was earlier involved in a NDPS case which had been registered against him on July 31, the officer said.