Kundapur: Absconding policeman-turned-extortionist arrested

Vinay Pais
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Mar 21: A head constable attached to Kundapur police station was arrested by Byndoor police personnel. The constable, who was expected to discharge duties that are part and parcel of a policeman, like supervising law and order situation and providing social protection, reportedly took on the role of an extortionist and posed threats to people.

The person in question has been identified a Mahabala Sheregar from Mayyadi in Byndoor. It is said that his name had emerged more than once in the past, as an associate of people working against law, but no action was taken.

However, he has now been arrested for allegedly making illegal and forced entry into the house of a person and threatening him to cough up cash amounting to a lac of rupees and part with his land records. Sheregar was arrested from a house in Hosanagar in Shimoga district.

It is said that Sheregar visited the house of a resident of Kergalu village, Balakrishna Shanbhogue, who provides home remedies for common ailments, sometime back. During his first visit to the house, Sheregar sought medicines for the police inspector of his station, who he said, was suffering from severe jaundice.  Shanbhogue however, wanted to see the patient’s condition before medicine could be dispensed.

In course of time, Sheregar developed the habit of frequenting Shanbhogue’s house on one guise or the other. Last month, he asked Shanbhogue to part with one lac rupees in cash and land records, presumably to get his friend, Latif from Kergal, released from jail. Shanbhogue turned down his demand. When Sheregar’s behaviour turned unbearable, Shanbhogue complained to the Byndoor police. When Nagendra, a policeman attached to Byndoor station, went to make enquiries about the complaint, Sheregar reportedly tried to assault him. As soon as a case got registered against him, Sheregar absconded.

The police, who got to know that he was hiding at Hosanagar, went there, executed the arrest warrant, and brought him here.

It is learnt that in the past, the same policeman had vandalized a hotel in Byndoor, after finding that the dish made of fish served to him there was not to the standard expected by him. In this case, he also faced the ire of a senior government official. Some lawyers said that when Sheregar presented an accused in the court sometime back, the presiding officer had wanted to know who was the real accused, taking into account the physique and attitude of the policeman.