Chennai Court Denies Bail to Inspector, Aide in Rs 40 Lakh Extortion Case

The principal sessions court in Chennai has dismissed the bail petitions of suspended police inspector Mohammed Buhari and his accomplice Seenivasan in connection with the alleged extortion of Rs 40 lakh from a businessman. Buhari was attached to the St Thomas Mount police station when the alleged offences took place.

The two accused were arrested on August 4 and booked under Sections 126(2), 308(2), and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Inspector Buhari was placed under suspension from service following his arrest by the authorities.

According to the prosecution, Buhari was part of the special police team formed to investigate the 2024 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K Armstrong. During the investigation, a mobile phone number registered in the complainant's name surfaced, leading the inspector to threaten the businessman with implication in the high-profile murder case.

The complainant stated that he had no involvement in the murder of Armstrong. He clarified to the police that he had provided the mobile phone number in 2018 to advocate Mottai Krishnan, who was later named as an accused in the murder case and had been absconding.

The prosecution submitted before the court that Buhari had used the threat of implication to extract approximately Rs 35 lakh from the businessman over a period of time.

The matter escalated further on August 2, when Buhari allegedly threatened to frame the businessman in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The inspector demanded an additional Rs 5 lakh from the complainant. As per the prosecution, the cash was handed over to Buhari's accomplice, Seenivasan, based on instructions given by the inspector, bringing the total amount allegedly extorted to around Rs 40 lakh.

In its order rejecting the bail pleas, the court observed that closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage related to the case was available on record and that the police investigation was still at a nascent stage. Taking into account the gravity of the allegations and the substantial amount involved in the extortion, the sessions court declined to grant relief to both Buhari and Seenivasan.