Nine policemen were placed under suspension in Maharashtra's Thane city for alleged negligence and dereliction of duty while escorting seven undertrial prisoners for a medical examination, a senior official said, reported news agency PTI.

A probe found several irregularities when the seven undertrials were taken to Kalwa civic hospital on August 4, based on which Deputy Commissioner of Police (HQ-2) Pawan Bansode issued the suspension order, citing the team's failure to properly supervise the prisoners, which raised suspicions of misconduct, the official said on Friday.

"A check at the hospital revealed that only five of the seven prisoners were accounted for. One of the prisoners was also left without handcuffs, and a team member was observed talking on his mobile phone instead of attending to his duties. The police team then allegedly misled superiors on the whereabouts of the two missing prisoners identified as Karan Dabhalia and Rajesh Pambar," he said, reported PTI.