Nagpur: Jagnade Square and nearby area turned out to be the scenario of amusement and bewilderment as well when sleuths of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chased in filmy style and caught a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) who was fleeing after accepting bribe money from a NMC contractor. The PSI was trapped at Jagnade Square after a hot trail. The sensational incident threw the Police Department into tizzy and amused and confused the citizens as well.
The netted PSI has been identified as Rajeshwar Pundlik Raut of Nandanvan Police Station. The accused PSI Raut had threatened the NMC contractor of implicating him falsely in an abetment to suicide case and had demanded and accepted bribe money. He was fleeing after pocketing the amount.
According to details, the complainant Padmakar Bawne has bagged the NMC contract for posting tax demand notes of the civic body. Padmakar had employed a woman named Shyamli Parasgaye for some office work. However, Shyamli committed suicide on December 6, 2015 for reasons better known to her. At that time Nandanvan police had registered a case of accidental death and the accused PSI Raut was investigating the matter further. During the course of investigation, PSI Raut threatened the NMC contractor Padmakar Bawne to implicate him on the charges of harassing and abetting suicide of Shyamli. The accused PSI warned Bawne that he will be booked under Section 306 (Abetment to suicide) of Indian Penal Code. The PSI further demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 from Bawne for sparing him of any action in the case. However, when Bawne expressed his inability to pay such a huge amount the accused PSI Raut scaled down the amount to Rs 15,000. The NMC contractor agreed to the demand but at the same time approached the ACB and filed a complaint against the corrupt PSI.
Armed with Bawne’s complaint the sleuths of ACB laid a meticulous trap and accordingly sent Bawne to Nandanvan Police Station. But the PSI Raut took Bawne to a sweetmeat shop situated at Jagnade Square and both first enjoyed cup of tea. Later, the accused PSI Raut directed Bawne to handover the bribe money to the man standing at the cash counter. Accordingly, Bawne handed over the money to the cash counter man. However, after sometime, the PSI Raut slyly accepted the bribe money packet from the counter man. The moment the PSI accepted the bribe, sleuths of ACB raided the spot. As soon as the PSI Raut saw the ACB team rushing to catch him, the accused PSI started fleeing the spot.
While fleeing, the PSI threw the packet containing bribe money somewhere midway. The ACB sleuths chased the PSI Raut filmy style and caught him at Jagnade Square. However, the ACB failed to seize Rs 11,500 of the bribe money from the accused PSI. But the marked currency notes of bribe amount left the tale tell signs on the corrupt hands of the accused Police Sub-Inspector and that was enough to place him under arrest.
The trapped accused PSI has been booked under Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and further probe is underway.
The operation was initiated under the directives of SP (ACB) Rajeev Jain and was carried out by Additional SP Roshan Yadav, DySP Milind Totre, Lady PI Monali Chaudhary, PI Asaram Shete, police constables Dinesh Adhapure, Chandrashekhar Dhok, Manish Kaole, Chandranag Taksande, and Vilas Khanke.
