Gujarat HC takes suo motu cognisance of extortion by traffic police in Ahmedabad

The Gujarat High Court has taken suo moto cognisance of an incident of extortion involving two traffic policemen and a traffic brigade (TRB) personnel in Ahmedabad.

The case hearing is scheduled for 11 September.

The incident where the officials allegedly extorted money from a couple travelling late at night was brought to the court's attention through a local news report.

Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee, constituting the bench, have requested an 'action taken' report from the police commissioner in relation to the matter.

The court emphasised the need for accountability, calling for the submission of the action-taken report and an affidavit from a gazetted officer of the Ahmedabad police commissioner's office before the upcoming hearing date on 11 September.

The couple, accompanied by their infant child, were reportedly halted by the two traffic constables and the TRB personnel while they were travelling in a cab around 1 a.m. The couple had returned from a vacation in Thailand and were stopped for checking.

During the checking drive, the traffic police constables forcibly entered the cab, it is alleged, and used threats to coerce the couple into paying them to be allowed to proceed. The officers allegedly invoked a police commissioner's notification regarding late-night travel violations and demanded a sum of Rs 2 lakh to release the couple. Ultimately, the couple were coerced into paying Rs 60,000.

The report also revealed that the officers not only entered the couple's cab but also prevented the woman from breastfeeding her one-year-old son.

The officers were identified and subsequently arrested.

The city police had reportedly intensified vehicle checking activities during nighttime following the Jaguar crash incident on the Iskcon Flyover.