Bharuch: Three police personnel posted in Bharuch district were caught in an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) trap while allegedly accepting a Rs one lakh bribe for returning a mobile phone seized in a prohibition case, officials said on Tuesday.
The ACB said the complainant, described as a vigilant citizen, had been booked under the Prohibition Act at Panoli police station and sent to sub-jail following legal proceedings. After securing bail, he approached the police station to retrieve his mobile phone.
According to the complaint, Assistant Head Constables Aniruddh Dhadhal and Jaydeepsinh Parmar allegedly demanded Rs three lakh for returning the handset.
When the complainant said he could not arrange the amount at once, Dhadhal allegedly agreed to accept it in three instalments of Rs one lakh each.
Unwilling to pay the first instalment, the complainant approached the ACB, which laid a trap at the “D” Staff chamber located in a container opposite Panoli police station in Bharuch district.
During the operation, the complainant held a pre-arranged conversation with Dhadhal, who allegedly directed him to hand over the money to Lok Rakshak Police Constable Sagar Chavda. Chavda was caught while accepting Rs one lakh, which was recovered by the ACB.
The bureau alleged that all three accused acted in collusion and accepted the bribe together.
On their personal details, officials said: “Dhadhal is currently residing at Ankleshwar City Police Line and originally from Rajkot district; Chavda is posted at Panoli police station and originally from Bhavnagar district; and Parmar is residing at Ankleshwar City Police Line and originally from Surendranagar district.”
The case is the latest in a series of recent anti-corruption operations involving police personnel in Gujarat.
Earlier this month, the ACB arrested a constable posted at Kadi police station in Mehsana district while he was allegedly accepting a Rs 80,000 bribe to settle a criminal complaint. Two additional persons were also arrested in connection with that case.
In another operation in June, a Police Sub-Inspector and a head constable attached to Bopal police station in Ahmedabad were arrested after allegedly demanding and accepting a Rs five lakh bribe following a complaint and a trap laid by the Kheda unit of the ACB.
(IANS)
