This Article is From Sep 03, 2015

Delhi Cops Take Gangster Shoe Shopping, Get the Boot

Gangster Manoj Bakkarwala, an undertrial, was taken to a shoping arcade while on his way to jail after a court hearing.

New Delhi: Six policemen have been sacked in Delhi for taking a gangster shoe shopping while on their way to jail after a court hearing.

On August 27, gangster Manoj Bakkarwala was taken to a court in Agra. On their way back to Tihar Jail, he apparently expressed a desire to go shopping for shoes. Reports said he even promised to buy shoes for the policemen.

The officers - among them an assistant sub-inspector - agreed. But a shop owner in the shopping arcade tipped off his friends in the media and the incident was caught on camera.

The policemen were suspended the same day.

"They were earlier suspended for dereliction of duty and the dismissal form was signed on Monday," said a senior police officer.

The sacked personnel belonged to the 3rd Battalion of Delhi Armed Police, which is entrusted with the transport of undertrials between jail and courts, the officer added.

The incident comes as a further embarrassment for the Delhi Police, which had been left red faced last week as a group of prisoners clashed inside a prison van transporting them from a court to Tihar Jail. Two prisoners had died.

The police had also recently been on a collision course with the Delhi government, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioning their performance. In July, police chief BS Bassi had challenged Mr Kejriwal to a debate on the issue.
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