The II Additional District and Sessions Court, Mangaluru, has rejected THE bail applications of a Kerala police officer and two other accused persons arrested in connection with cheating a businessman from Vitla in Dakshina Kannada of ₹50 lakh by posing as Enforcement Directorate officials.
The court rejected the applications of 49-year-old Shafeer Babu, assistant sub-inspector from Thrissur district of Kerala, who is the main accused in the case, and of Mohammed Iqbal and Mohammed Ansar.
On January 3, 2025, six persons came in a car with a Tamil Nadu registration number to the house of N. Sulaiman, an agriculturist and beedi entrepreneur, in Kolnad village. They posed as ED officials and made away with ₹50 lakh. The police filed charge sheet against 13 persons, including Shafeer Babu, Mohammed Iqbal, Mohammed Ansar, and five others who have been arrested. The police are searching for five more accused persons.
Rejecting the bail application of Shafeer Babu on June 3, the court said the officer is charged with planning the act by collecting information about the victim and executing it in association with the other accused.
The charge sheet was filed to avoid the release of the arrested persons. The police are yet to recover incriminating articles from the other accused persons who are absconding. The court has taken note of remarks in investigation officer’s report that indicated the accused officer’s non-cooperation in the investigation and his actions to divert the investigation.
As further investigation is on, releasing the accused officer could lead to him tampering with the investigation and helping the other accused persons, who are on the run, escape from justice, the judge observed.
While making similar observations to reject the applications of Iqbal and Ansar, the judge has taken note in his June 3 judgment of the nine criminal cases in which Iqbal is named as accused.
Published – June 09, 2025 10:43 pm IST