The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sacked two of its leaders in Jammu and Kashmir after they were arrested for allegedly extorting money from a woman to get her brother out of jail, NDTV reported.
Earlier on Thursday, the police had arrested Abdul Rehman Tikri, BJP’s Bandipora district chief and Mushtaq Ahmad, a panchayat head, after the woman filed a complaint, according to PTI.
The woman’s brother, Aqib Khursheed, had been detained by the Bandipora Police a few days ago, an unidentified police officer told the Kashmir Observer. The officer did not say on what charges Khursheed was detained.
“However, despite police’s assurances of a fair probe, the family members [of Khursheed] had approached BJP district president Abdul Rehman Tikri for ensuring their ward’s release,” the police officer said.
Tikri and Ahmad had demanded Rs 1 lakh from the woman to ensure her brother’s release. The police arrested the two BJP leaders on charges of cheating.
“If the two accused are proven guilty, they will be strictly dealt with under the laid down provisions of law,” the officer said. “J&K Police once again reiterates that if anyone is found guilty in such crimes, we won’t spare them come what may.”
The Srinagar Police has asked residents to report demands of bribes after several allegations about touts extorting money from families surfaced, NDTV reported.
The police also gave emails and numbers for reporting the bribe demands.
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