Ajmer Court Acquits 14 Policemen Including IPS Officer in Extortion Case

A special court in Ajmer acquitted 14 policemen, including an IPS officer, in a 2013 extortion case. The Anti-Corruption Bureau had arrested several officers for allegedly extorting money from Station House Officers. However, the court ruled that insufficient legal evidence was provided to convict them.

A special court in Ajmer on Tuesday acquitted all 14 policemen, including an IPS officer, in a 2013 case of monthly extortion.

In January 2013, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested the then Ajmer Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena and alleged middleman Ramdev Thathera for allegedly extorting money from Station House Officers under Meena's jurisdiction.

Other arrested officials included the then additional SP Lokesh Sonwal and various inspectors who served as SHOs across different police stations. Also arrested was a civilian, Hemant Jain.

“The ACB had made a fake case. The charge sheet was presented against the police officers but legal evidence could not be produced. Therefore, the court has acquitted all 14 accused today,” said Umardan Singh, counsel for four of the accused officers.

The special TADA court, which handles ACB cases, rendered the judgment, noting the lack of written source information and legal evidence to support the extortion claims.

The ACB initially claimed that Meena extorted monthly payments from SHOs through the civilian Ramdev, from whom Rs 2 lakh was allegedly recovered during the raid.

Ramdev defended himself by asserting the money was meant for temple construction. Rajesh Meena currently holds the position of IG-Security at the Police Headquarters in Jaipur.