Mumbai: The special court for corruption cases has sentenced a retired assistant police inspector to three years imprisonment, with a fine of Rs 30,000 for seeking bribe from a BMC driver, who was arrested for undue monetary favours.
However, special judge Shashikant Bangar showed leniency and awarded minimum punishment to Suresh Naik, 63. “Considering the services rendered by him in bringing the culprits, involved in 58 crimes, to the book, it would be just and proper to award the minimum punishment along with a heavy fine, which would meet the ends of justice,” the judge said.
As per the prosecution, Ramakrishna Kute was employed as a driver with the executive engineer of the BMC's transport city asphalt department. He was booked in 2016 for helping a man collect funds from locals to reduce their water bill in lieu of kickback.
After being released on bail, Kute met Naik during one of his visits to the Parksite police station as directed by the court. The latter offered to help him get favourable output in the case and sought Rs 5 lakh, said the prosecution, adding that he asked to give Rs 30,000 immediately. Kute then approached theAnti-Corruption Bureau, which later nabbed Naik and recovered the bribe amount.
The prosecution heavily relied on the call data records and tainted notes seized from the accused. The court accepted the evidence as cogent enough to hold Naik guilty.
