Some senior police officers also agreed to this and admitted that they were unable to control the practice for lack of evidences.
With the murder of Malleswaram traffic police head-constable P Vijay Kumar, the one thing that comes out of the closet is the involvement of police in the money-lending business charging exorbitant interest.
Some senior police officers also agreed to this and admitted that they were unable to control the practice for lack of evidences. “No one will come forward to file a complaint against a police personnel involved in money-lending business,” a senior police officer said under conditions of anonymity.
It is mostly the police constables who are running such illegal business, he said. According to his knowledge, many city armed reserve (CAR) police, especially those deployed as gunmen to some VIPs are into it. They lend money and charge 3% to 6% interest a month.
Then there is another category of police constables who lend money only to people residing in the jurisdiction of their police station or neighbourhood. They collected interest between 2% and 5% a month.
Daily and weekly terms
A police officer said that some police personnel attached to Kalasipalya, City Market and Upparpet police stations regularly finance shop vendors for interest. He added that most such cops do not wish to be transferred as staying on at one place for more than a decade benefits the ‘alternative’ profession.
A police officer said that some police personnel, who have tasted illegal finance business, did not stop even after being shunted out of the City Market police station. A police constable attached to the Upparpet police station’s special branch is allegedly continuing his business in City Market. Another constable, who is currently working in KSRTC outpost, too continued his business.
An officer said that most of them operate through middlemen to protect their career. In the market area, most the vendors take loan on a daily or weekly basis. They are charged 2% to 10% interest a week. In the City Market area, it is difficult to get monthly finance as most of the illegal financiers, including policemen, preferred the daily or weekly set-up.
Indirect involvement
Not just directly, the police aid the illegal financiers also by having them lend money to their relatives and friends. At other times, the cops guard the financiers. A senior police officer said that the local police sometimes do not arrest the illegal financiers in their jurisdictions. Then the fraud and misappropriation squad of the CCB police send many financiers behind the bars for collecting exorbitant interest from the public.
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