Extortion And Death Threat Case: IPS Officer And 8 Others Arrested In Assam

Guwahati: In a shocking incident, nine individuals, including an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, have been apprehended in Assam following allegations of blackmail and extortion made by a businessman, Rabiul Islam.

Mr. Islam has claimed that these individuals, including police officers, unlawfully detained him and threatened him with a staged encounter if he didn’t pay ₹2.5 crore. He further alleged that they threatened to fabricate connections between him and Pakistani and Bangladeshi jihadi elements to justify his killing.

According to his complaint, the ordeal began on July 16 when police officers arrived at his residence at 1:30 am, forcibly removed him, and began interrogating him about drugs and money. They allegedly physically assaulted him for hours before taking him and two relatives to the Bhabanipur police station, where they were held for several hours. The complaint also alleges that they were taken to the Superintendent of Police’s residence the following day for further questioning.

Late that night, the officer-in-charge of the Bhabanipur police station purportedly forced him into a vehicle with two individuals in plainclothes and one in a police uniform. They allegedly transported him to a detergent factory, where they coerced him to run, threatening to stage a fake encounter and frame him as having ties to “jihadi elements” and illegally acquiring his properties.

On Monday, the Assam Crime Investigation Department (CID) took action, arresting nine individuals, including Siddhartha Buragohan, a 2014 batch IPS officer who had served as the Bajali district Superintendent of Police until his recent transfer to the Assam Police Headquarters. The other individuals detained include Deputy Superintendent of Police Pushkal Gogoi, Additional Superintendent of Police Gayatri Sonowal, her husband Subhas Chander, Sub-Inspector Debajit Giri, and Constables Injamamul Hassan, Kishore Baruah, Nabir Ahmed, and Dipjoy Kalita.