In a shocking development, five police personnel of the Anti-Terrorism Squad were caught on camera extorting money from an online game company in Salcete, throwing open a debate of brazen corruption in the police system. CCTV footage is reported to have shown the policemen demanding Rs 10 lakh from the businessman.
Interestingly, the businessman circulated the video footage via social media besides sending it to the offices of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Police sources have revealed that extortion has been happening in the department, although questions are being raised over the anti-terrorism squad link to the gaming business.
Director General of Police Jaspal Singh has said that an inquiry has been initiated and that appropriate action will be taken based on the findings. However, on Wednesday, those involved in the incident were “internally” transferred without any written orders, while there is no word about who spearheaded this extortion attempt. Despite the ignominy attached to the incident, the easygoing approach of the DGP is baffling.
The extortion bid also had a cover-up. Panic set in after the leaked video, and the police, sensing trouble, returned the money taken from the businessman. Also, there are reports that the same team was involved in two other incidents previously in Calangute and Anjuna. In June 2021, three police personnel attached to the Calangute police station were suspended for extorting money from two couples. The police were on patrol duty at the Aguada fort.
Corruption in the police force is no secret, but illegal businesses given the cover of legitimacy through the ‘extortion’ mode is unfortunate and speaks of how corroded the system is. While the general talk is about zero tolerance towards corruption, such extortion bids only mock those promises and expose the hollowness of claims.
Lest we forget, last year, the Superintendent of police, Anti-Corruption Branch Ashesh Kumar stated that his office is idle in Goa since there have been no complaints of corruption in Goa for the past five years. He appreciated public tolerance of corruption. “Are we to suggest that there is no bribery happening in Goa and that the State has turned into Ram Rajya? he had quipped. Unfortunately, a week later, Kumar was shunted out of Goa and was posted at Mumbai Regional Training Centre.
The current extortion incident raises a few questions. Firstly, why are the constables and lower-level personnel who do the legwork become the only targets of action? Why are seniors who are the mastermind and beneficiaries of these extortion bids not tracked and taken to task? Finally, how do the police against whom there is a prima facie charge, and even those suspended, manage to get re-instated?
It seems improbable to fathom the depth of corruption in the police beat, but there is more than what meets the eye. History tells us there is considerable tolerance towards graft, and the action taken in past cases explains that. The DGP has initiated a departmental inquiry, but no “suspension, pending probe” has been effected against any of those involved, leave alone those hiding behind a wall. The video footage is on record, and so are the personnel in the clip. The lenient view of such a “crime” is surprising, and the dots now connect to why illegal businesses are thriving in Goa.
