Mira-Bhayandar: A constable attached to the Kashimira police station landed in the custody of the Thane unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after a middleman who ran a tea stall outside the police station was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1,500 from a hotelier on behalf of the cop.
Police constable Ramchandra Yashwant Bangar had demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000 from the complainant for allowing him to keep his establishment (a dhaba) open till late at night. Fed up with the harassment and monetary demands, the aggrieved dhaba owner registered a complaint with the ACB.
ACB team laid trap to catch the constable red-handed
While the bribe demand was scaled down to Rs 1,500 after negotiations, the ACB team verified the authenticity of the complaint and laid a trap. The middleman – Shyam Pandit who runs a tea stall near the police station – was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 1500 on behalf of the constable at around 12.50 pm on Tuesday. The on-duty constable was also taken into custody from the police station, by the ACB team.
Meanwhile, it has been alleged that several tea stalls located outside police stations were being used as bribe collection centres. Further investigations are underway.
