The Madras High Court on October 1 dismissed suspended police inspector Mohammed Buhari’s bail application in a case alleging that he extorted ₹40 lakh from a Chennai businessman. Justice N. Ramesh heard the application before refusing bail, according to reports by UNI, News Today and Tamil Oneindia.
Police allege that the businessman was threatened with being falsely implicated in the murder investigation of Bahujan Samaj Party leader K. Armstrong. Buhari and another man, Srinivasan, were arrested in the extortion inquiry. UNI reported that Buhari had served on the team investigating Armstrong’s killing and was arrested on August 4, after which he was suspended.
Two earlier bail applications had been rejected by the Principal Sessions Court. Thursday’s ruling concerns release during the continuing criminal proceedings; it is not a conviction. The available reports did not set out the detailed defence arguments or the court’s reasons. Those gaps should not be filled with assumptions about guilt or the evidence.