Two Pune policemen suspended for failing to nab thieves

Two policemen were suspended for alleged dereliction of duty after a gang of thieves escaped in front of them after committing loot in a housing society here in Maharashtra, a senior official said on Tuesday.

One of the policemen was armed with a rifle but he did not use it to deter or nab the thieves coming out of the housing society in the Aundh area of Pune city in the wee hours of Monday, he said.

As per CCTV footage, the policemen, both beat marshals on night patrol duty, were seen arriving at the gates of the housing society on a motorcycle.

The policeman riding the motorbike is purportedly seen fleeing from the spot leaving his colleague behind after the thieves came out of the gates.

The other policeman, despite having a self-loading rifle, did not use it on the thieves, the official said.

"The beat marshals reached the gates of the housing society after a call of housebreaking and subsequent confrontation of the thieves with private security guards was received in the wee hours.

"The thieves got away with stolen valuables right in front of the cops by showing a knife to them," said the police officer.

The officer said one of the police personnel was armed with a self-loading rifle (SLR), but he did not use it on the thieves.

"While one policeman was suspended for fleeing away from the spot, the other was suspended for not using his SLR on the thieves," said the officer.

Commissioner of Police Amitabh Gupta said both the beat marshals were suspended for displaying "unprofessional" behaviour.