BANGALORE: Amruthahalli police inspector Ratnakar Shetty, who is absconding ever since Lokayukta raided the station, allegedly, connived with habitual offender to blackmail businessmen. “Shetty implicated innocent businessmen and received appreciations from senior,” the Lokayukta investigations revealed.Ratnakar Shetty had detained a habitual offender, Hameed. To fix the complainant Noor Ahmed, the owner of a garment factory in Shivajingagar, in sewing machine theft cases, he allegedly hatched a plan. On the pretext of conducting enquiry, Shetty detained Noor Ahmed illegally for two days (September 2-4).He is said to have threatened Noor that he would book him for receiving stolen goods from Hameed and demanded Rs 10 lakh for his safe release. Noor Ahmed agreed to pay the ransom mistaking it to be Rs 10,000. He asked his son to arrange the money. When Noor Ahmed gave the money to Shetty, the furious inspector threatened to put him behind bars.Noor Ahmed asked permission to let him go out, so that he can arrange the money. Shetty agreed to give him time but snatched the key of his factory as a surety. In the meantime, Shetty managed to shift 35 sewing machines from Noor’s factory to his police station and recorded statements that he recovered them from Hameed. He even locked the factory and kept the keys with him, Lokayukta police investigations detailed.Meanwhile, Noor Ahmed tried to commit suicide but his relatives intervened and approached constable Suhail from neighbouring Sampigehalli police to mediate, while Lokayukta police planned to trap Shetty. Suhail negotiated with Shetty and managed to bring the ransom to Rs 75,000.A team of Lokayukta officials swung into action, and sent Noor Ahmed with a hidden tape recorder to meet Shetty and directed Suhail to record the conversation as corroborative evidence.The conversation was recorded but before the police could hold a raid, relatives of Noor Ahmed tipped Suhail and Shetty managed to escape. Lokayukta officials confiscated the keys.
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