In Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, a police team raided a police pocket after getting information that the whole police station was involved in an extortion racket. Taking decisive action against extortion from truck drivers in the Narhi area on the Bihar border, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday transferred the Ballia Superintendent of Police and the Additional SP, and suspended the Deputy SP, Sadar. Earlier in the day, a raid was conducted in the area, resulting in the arrest of 18 people, including two police personnel, while two others were suspended, officials said. 


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The extortion gang collected Rs 500 from each vehicle. It is estimated that about 1,000 vehicles cross the border each night, highlighting the extent of the illegal operation. Thus, they used to collect around Rs 5 lakhs per day and around Rs 1.5 crore per month.


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A vigilance inquiry into the properties of the Deputy SP Sadar, Narhi police station SHO, and police outpost in charge has been ordered, according to a statement issued by the government. This action follows the revelation of illegal money collection from vehicles by police personnel on the Bihar border. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has responded with a strict zero-tolerance policy. Consequently, Ballia Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma and Additional SP Durga Prasad Tiwari have been transferred and placed on the waiting list, while DSP Sadar Shubh Soochit has been suspended, the statement said.


Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Azamgarh zone) Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that several complaints of extortion by policemen along the border were received by Additional Director General of Police (Varanasi zone) Piyush Mordia. DIG Krishna said that during the raid, two policemen involved in extortion were apprehended while three others managed to escape, and added that 16 middlemen were also taken into custody.