Mira-Bhayandar: Cop lands in ACB net for taking bribe from accused in rape case

In a major embarrassment for the Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police, an assistant police inspector (API) attached to the Kashimira police station landed in the custody of the Thane unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after he was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs. 25,000 from a 54-year-old complainant on Thursday.

The accused officer has been identified as API Mahendra Appaji Bhamre. The bribe was allegedly sought by Bhamre to file a charge sheet and sort a compromise with the woman who had registered a rape case against the complainant in 2020.

A builder by profession, the complainant (in the current graft case) had been charged with allegedly raping his 33-year-old employee for nearly eight years by promising marriage.

A case under sections 376(2) (n), 419 and 506 of the IPC was registered against the builder at the Kashimira police station on 17, September 2020. However, the accused managed to procure pre-arrest bail in December 2020.

Bhamre, who was the investigating officer in the case, was demanding Rs. 5 lakh from the complainant. Fed up with the demands, the aggrieved registered a complaint with the ACB on Wednesday.

Subsequently, the ACB team led by Police Inspector Suresh Chopde confirmed the authenticity of the complaint and laid a trap in which Bhamre was caught red-handed at the Kashimira police station accepting Rs. 25,000 as an advance towards the bribe amount on Thursday afternoon.

A case under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has been registered against the accused cop who has been remanded to custody. Further investigations were on.