Ahmedabad, Oct 3 (IANS) Four people, including a police Assistant Sub-Inspector, an advocate and two contractual Social Welfare Inspectors, were caught in two separate Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) traps in Gujarat on Saturday while allegedly accepting bribes totalling Rs 2.54 lakh.
In the first case, an Assistant Sub-Inspector posted at Mahudha Police Station and an advocate were booked after an alleged demand of Rs 2.5 lakh to settle a dispute and avoid registration of a case.
The accused were identified as Narendrasinh Chavda, an ASI at Mahudha Police Station, and Justice Kalidas Rohit, 30, an advocate residing in Nadiad. Rohit is a native of Mahisa village in Mahudha taluka of Kheda district.
According to the ACB, the complainant and his son are engaged in the business of detergent powder and related products of different companies.
On October 1, the complainant’s son and his partner were allegedly taken to Mahudha Police Station along with their goods vehicle after Rohit accused them of cheating traders in Mahudha.
When the complainant went to the police station on October 2, Chavda allegedly demanded Rs five lakh in the presence of Rohit to reach a settlement and avoid registration of a case.
Following negotiations, the amount was allegedly reduced to Rs 2.5 lakh. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant contacted the ACB through its toll-free number ‘1064’.
Based on his complaint, the agency laid a trap at Office No. 24 in Shyam Arcade, opposite a Nayara petrol pump at Mahudha Chokdi.
During the trap, Rohit allegedly demanded and accepted Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant and was caught by the ACB. Chavda was not present at the spot.
The ACB said the two accused allegedly acted in connivance and assisted each other in the offence.
In a separate trap in Bhuj, the ACB caught two contractual Social Welfare Inspectors while allegedly accepting Rs 4,000 for processing instalments of financial assistance under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Housing Scheme.
The accused were identified as Asif Mustafa Qureshi, 28, and Kanji Bhatti, 32. Both work as Social Welfare Inspectors handling schemes and scholarships on a contractual basis at the Office of the Social Welfare Officer (Developed Castes), Bhuj-Kutch.
According to the ACB, the two officials allegedly demanded Rs 4,000 from the complainant for depositing different instalments of assistance sanctioned for his house under the housing scheme.
The complainant, unwilling to pay the alleged illegal gratification, approached the Bhuj ACB.
After registering his complaint, the agency arranged a trap at Bahumali Bhavan.
The ACB said both accused asked the complainant to hand over the bribe and subsequently accepted Rs 4,000, following which they were caught during the trap.
The agency alleged that they had assisted each other in committing the offence.
–IANS
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