Kochi | A sub-Inspector (SI) in Kerala police has been booked for allegedly extorting several lakhs from a subordinate officer to not register a theft case against the latter based on a spa employee's complaint, police said on Saturday.

The spa employee had accused a Civil Police Officer (CPO) of Palarivattom police station of stealing her gold chain and the SI of the same station intervened in the matter and allegedly demanded money to make the accusation go away, they said.

The CPO allegedly paid around Rs 4 lakh to the SI, according to the former's complaint, it said.

Based on the CPO's complaint a case for extortion was registered on Friday under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the woman and the SI, police said.

There is also a third accused - a civilian -- in the case, it said.

The arrest of the accused has not been formally recorded yet, it added.