Kannur: A tourist police officer, posted at St Angelo Fort (Kannur Fort), is under investigation for allegedly harassing a young couple from Kollam, said Kannur City Commissioner of Police Ajit Kumar. Without revealing the details, he said only an inquiry would reveal if the accused officer harassed the couple.

According to news reports, the tourist police officer approached the couple touring the fort and allegedly indulged in moral policing, threatened to inform their parents and demanded money from them. The couple agreed to pay him Rs 3,000 but the officer demanded Rs 25,000, said the news reports. The couple returned to Kollam and emailed the complaint to the City Police Commissioner Ajit Kumar, who neither confirmed nor denied receiving such a complaint but categorically ruled out a bribery allegation.

"We have not received any complaint on the officer demanding money," he said. Kannur City Assistant Commissioner of Police Siby Tom confirmed the inquiry against the officer but refused to reveal his name or the nature of the complaint over the phone.

Kerala police have created a special branch called Tourism Police to cater to the needs of tourists. They are trained to interact with tourists and speak multiple languages such as Tamil, Hindi, English and French, according to the police website. In Kannur, tourist police are deployed at St Angelo Fort and Muzhappilangad drive-in beach.