Pune API Held For Accepting ₹50,000 Bribe, Sought ₹2 Lakh For Bail Help

Pune: The Pune unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested an Assistant Police Inspector (API) attached to Lonikand Police Station after he allegedly accepted a ₹50,000 bribe from a complainant for expediting the filing of a chargesheet in a criminal case, officials said on Thursday.

The accused has been identified as Assistant Police Inspector Krishna Janardan Babar (45), posted at Lonikand Police Station, Pune City. He was caught during a trap operation conducted by the ACB on Tuesday.

According to the ACB, the complainant approached the department and alleged that a case registered against him and his son at Lonikand Police Station under Sections 318(3), 318(5) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was being investigated by Babar.

The complainant alleged that Babar demanded ₹50,000 to ensure that the chargesheet in the case was filed before the court at the earliest. The API also allegedly demanded an additional ₹2 lakh to assist the complainant’s son, Pratik, in connection with his anticipatory bail application pending before the Bombay High Court.

The ACB verified the complaint, during which the alleged demand for ₹50,000 to expedite the chargesheet was confirmed.

Following the verification, the ACB laid a trap near Sheetaladevi Temple, in front of Shrikant Trading, at Chowk No. 15, Manjari. Babar allegedly accepted ₹50,000 from the complainant in his Maruti Ciaz car (MH-04-KB-7879) in the presence of a panch witness.

The ACB team apprehended Babar red-handed at around 11.02pm.

A case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, is being registered at Hadapsar Police Station.

Babar was taken into custody on September 8 and subsequently remanded to police custody until September 12.

The trap operation was led by Police Inspector Suhas Hattekare of ACB Pune under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Satish Walke.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of ACB Pune Superintendent of Police Shirish Sardeshpande and Additional Superintendent of Police Ajit Patil.