HOWRAH: Two men, who posed as cops on National Highway 16 at night to extort money from travellers, mercilessly beat up a youth early on Saturday after he refused to pay the amount that they had demanded, leading to his death. The victim's friends alerted cops and a team from the Bagnan police station reached the spot and arrested the duo. They have been charged with murder and snatching.
According to police, Tarakeswar resident Sujay Das (25) was driving a goods carrier when two men, allegedly dressed in police uniform, flagged the vehicle down on NH 16 (earlier NH 6) near Barunda under the Bagnan police station, ahead of Kolaghat. Six of Das's friends were in the vehicle's deck. They were all headed for Digha.
The accused - Kushal Mani and Rakesh Dolui - were reportedly on a bike that had a 'police' sticker. One of the fake cops first asked Das to show them the vehicle's documents. When he did, the two reportedly asked him why he was on the highway so late and why there were so many men with him. One of Das's friends recounted that the fake cops asked Sujay to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 as he was driving at night. When Das protested, he was reportedly dragged out of the driver's seat. Das then told them he did not have Rs 5,000 on him and offered Rs 1,000.
Refusing to take Rs 1,000, the accused started beating Das up savagely. His friends ran across the street to a fuel station and sought help. Those at the fuel station then called the Bagnan PS, following which a team arrived and rounded up the fake policemen. They also took Das, severely injured, to Uluberia Hospital. He was referred to SSKM Hospital but died while on the way, police said.
During interrogation, Mani and Dolui confessed that they had procured a 'police' sticker for their bike and had been posing as cops and extorting money from motorists on the highway for some time now. SP Howrah (rural) Swati Bhangali said, "We are trying to find out for how long the duo had been running this racket and duping people. We are stepping up security on the national highway further."
