Two cops, two TRB jawans booked for extorting ₹20,000, liquor bottles from NRI at Vaishnodevi Circle

Ahmedabad Rural Police have registered a case against after two traffic constables and two Traffic Brigade (TRB) jawans allegedly extorted ₹20,000 and two bottles of imported liquor from a 39-year-old civil engineer returning from Muscat, by threatening to frame him in a prohibition case.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed at Santej police station on September 20, Pankaj Gordhan Bhatia, a resident of Om Residency in Adipur, Kutch, flew from Muscat to Mumbai on September 17 and then onward to Ahmedabad early the next morning. Bhatia had bought two one-litre bottles of liquor at Muscat’s duty-free shop.

Around 8.45 am on September 18, Bhatia was travelling in a Maruti Suzuki car driven by his relative Kishan Gopal Bhatia from Apollo Circle towards Vaishnodevi Circle. Near the toll booth, four men, two in traffic police uniform and two TRB jawans, allegedly stopped the vehicle and began questioning them.

They searched Bhatia’s luggage, found the liquor bottles and threatened to register a prohibition case, saying his passport would be seized and he would be jailed. The men allegedly demanded ₹1.5 lakh to 'settle' the matter.

Frightened, Bhatia offered Rs 1 lakh, but after repeated phone calls and pressure, the accused finally agreed to accept ₹20,000. Bhatia gave ₹8,000 in cash and withdrew the remaining Rs 12,000 from an HDFC Bank ATM using his cousin Kishan’s card. The four also took away the two bottles of liquor before letting them leave, warning Bhatia not to reveal the incident.

“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused are indeed serving police personnel, two traffic constables and two TRB jawans,” said Bharat Rathod, DCP Zone 2. “Strict departmental and legal action will follow against those involved.”

Police have booked the four for extortion, cheating and impersonating a public servant. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the Vaishnodevi Circle toll plaza and surrounding ring road stretches to corroborate the sequence of events and secure evidence for prosecution.