A video showing a policeman extorting money from a tourist at the world-famous Ellora Caves near here went viral on social media today, forcing the district authorities to suspend him.
The video, shot by Somayya Swami, a resident of Gulbarga in Karnataka, purportedly shows a police constable, attached to the Khultabad police station in the district, demanding Rs 400 from a tourist for parking his car at a wrong place.
The alleged incident took place yesterday.
The constable is also heard telling the vehicle owner that he would get a receipt for only Rs 200.
When the vehicle owner questions this, the policeman tells him, "Subah se dhup mey khada hun, dimag kharab na kar (I have been standing in the sun since morning, don't get on my nerves)."
Eventually he settled for Rs 300, the video shows.
A senior police officer told PTI that after the video went viral, the constable was suspended and an inquiry was initiated.
A notice was issued to the senior official of the Khultabad police station, seeking a clarification, he said.
The personnel of Aurangabad Rural Police, under which the police station falls, have no authority to recover fine from tourists at the Ellora Caves, he added.
Ellora in Aurangabad district of Central Maharashtra is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It attracts tourists from across the world.
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