Philippines President threatens to kill cops accused of graft
Manila, Aug 8 : Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to kill around 100 police officers accused of corruption and abuse of power, the media reported on Wednesday.
The footage of Duterte's speech, which was delivered at the Malacanang palace on Tuesday night, was aired repeatedly on Philippines television channels on Wednesday.
"You are useless to me. You are a menace to society," Duterte said.
The officers who were called to the presidential palace included three policemen who were already serving a prison sentence and were released temporarily in order to listen to Duterte, Efe news reported.
The allegations against the officers included robbery, extortion, serious unlawful detention, kidnapping, rape, abuse of power and abandoning duty without permission.
"If you stay like this, I will really kill you," Duterte said in the speech laden with expletives. The President said that agents involved in drug-trafficking and organized crime would be monitored by a special unit "for life".
"It's a good thing there are a lot of people here, there are officials present or else, I would be hitting you," he said. This is the second time that Duterte publicly admonished police personnel accused of corruption and malpractice.
In February 2017, he called around 200 policemen accused of misconduct to the Malacanang presidential palace to scold them, at a time when his war on drugs was at its peak and had led to a spotlight on police abuses of power.
The President has launched a clean-up drive of the national police and even temporarily withdrew the force from participating in his campaign against drugs due to alleged abuses by officers.
According to official figures, more than 4,500 people were killed by the police in anti-drug campaigns, although human rights groups claimed that 12,000-15,000 people were killed during the crackdown.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
