02.05.2025 12:50
In the earthquake disaster centered in Kahramanmaraş, a police officer who embezzled the gold belonging to the deceased victims from the rubble has been dismissed from his position. The officer will be tried in a heavy penal court in the coming days.
```html
After delivering the gold found in the rubble of the building that collapsed in Adana during the earthquake to the relatives of the deceased, a police officer who was found to have taken the gold for himself by saying, "The prosecutor wants it back; we will return it after all the gold is collected," was given a 'dismissal from public service' penalty twice. It has been learned that the former police officer, whose investigation is ongoing, will be tried in the heavy penal court in the coming days.
In the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 82 people lost their lives and 6 were injured due to the collapse of Block C of İhsan Bayram Site in the Huzurevleri neighborhood of Adana's Çukurova district. The gold extracted from the rubble of the collapsed building was delivered to the 100th Year Martyr Rüstü Bayram Police Station. The police officer on duty, E.C. (30), delivered the gold to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the building by preparing a report in front of the security camera at the police station.
"GOLD IS MISSING, GIVE IT BACK" According to allegations, after a while, the police officer E.C. called the people to whom he had delivered the gold and said, "There are other gold items belonging to your family. I need to return all of them with a single delivery report. Therefore, return the gold, and I will give it back to you after the prosecutor has examined it," and went to their homes in a police vehicle to retrieve the gold. During this time, he told Orhan Boncukluğu, who claimed to have exchanged the gold, "I have a jeweler friend. Go there, have that gold remade, and deliver it to me." Boncukluğu then had the gold remade and delivered it.
FAMILIES BECAME SUSPICIOUS WHEN THE GOLD DID NOT COME However, after a while, the gold did not return, and the police officer began to give suspicious answers. The victims reached out to Lawyer Nazan Akça Subaşı, who lost her daughter-in-law and two nephews in the same apartment. Lawyer Subaşı filed a criminal complaint against police officer E.C. with the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. However, the prosecutor at the time decided not to pursue the case. Following this, lawyer Subaşı applied to the Peace Criminal Court regarding the prosecutor's decision not to pursue, and the decision was overturned, allowing for an investigation. Subsequently, the General Directorate of Security assigned an inspector to investigate the matter.
DISMISSED FROM SERVICE TWICE, RESIGNED While the inspectors' investigation was ongoing, E.C. resigned from the police force. However, the Inspection Board of the General Directorate of Security imposed a 'dismissal from public service' penalty on E.C. twice. The former police officer, who was charged with embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion, negligence of supervisory duties, bribery, and other crimes to be determined ex officio, is expected to stand trial in the heavy penal court in the coming days after the indictment is prepared. Lawyer Nazan Akça Subaşı, who made statements regarding the matter, said, "While people were struggling for their lives after the earthquakes, the state's police embezzled the gold. We went to the prosecutor's office to file a complaint, but the prosecutor at the time closed the case immediately due to the police being the administrative superior. We applied to the Peace Criminal Court, and they overturned the decision of non-prosecution. The General Directorate of Security also completed its investigation through inspectors. The police officer was dismissed from the profession twice," she said.
"HE TRIED TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF BY CHANGING DATES" Subaşı explained that the police officer even changed the reports, saying, "When an investigation was opened against the police officer on duty, he even changed the dates of the reports. He changed the dates of the gold he delivered on March 28 to April 28 to try to justify himself. All of this is included in the prosecutor's file. I only identified those related to my clients, and there is a million-dollar fraud involved," she said.
Subaşı stated that the earthquake victims were aggrieved and still had not received their gold, saying, "Citizens trusted the state's police and returned their gold. However, after a while, when they could not receive the gold, they went to the prosecutor's office, and the prosecutor at the time directed those victims to the police station. If the prosecutor had listened to the citizens at that time, it would have revealed what kind of fraud was going on. However, with our research, this investigation deepened. We hope that such shameless and thieving police officers do not fulfill their public duties, and the names of our police officers who perform their duties properly are not tarnished," she said.
"THE GOLD WENT, WE NEVER SAW IT AGAIN" Osman Özgen, who lost his son, pregnant daughter-in-law, and grandchild in Block C of İhsan Bayram Site, stated that he delivered gold worth approximately 200,000 lira to police officer E.C. at that time, saying, "While we were going to the funeral in Kayseri, my wife left our gold at my child's house. While we were going to Kayseri, the earthquake happened. I lost my son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. While we were in distress there, we received news that gold had been found in the rubble. Later, we went to the police station, and we were given 2 bracelets, but when we got home, we were told, 'These gold items are not yours, give them back,' and the gold was taken back. That gold went, and we never saw it again," he said.
"HE DELAYED US FOR MONTHS" Özgen emphasized that the police officer delayed them for a long time, saying, "I called the police and said, 'I'm in a hurry, give me the gold.' He delayed me by saying, 'Let the rubble removal finish, let all the rubble be cleared, I will give you the gold then.' I went to the prosecutor's office, and he said, 'Don't come here, we will send it to the 100th Year Police Station.' While we were still waiting for the gold, we learned from other neighbors that we had been defrauded. We filed a complaint, and now he has been removed from duty. Before being removed from duty, he was still calling our children, saying, 'We will find the gold, we will give it to you,' and delaying us," he stated.
HE DEFENDED HIMSELF BY SAYING, "I MADE A MISTAKE" On the other hand, it has been learned that E.C., who was dismissed from the profession, stated in his testimony to the prosecutor that he did not harm anyone and that he made a mistake while delivering the gold, which is why he went to people's homes to retrieve many people's gold again.
```