Kurar senior inspector, SI held in Rs 1 lakh bribe trap

During this period, Senior Inspector Tawade allegedly demanded Rs 3 lakh to avoid taking action. The complainant paid Rs 2 lakh and was allowed to leave, officials said. On February 2, Sub-Inspector Junne allegedly contacted the complainant and demanded the remaining Rs 1 lakh to settle both matters.

Unwilling to pay any more, the complainant approached the ACB on February 3 and lodged a complaint. The allegations were verified on February 4 and again on February 16 in the presence of independent witnesses, an official said.
On the evening of February 18, a trap was laid at Kurar police station. The ACB team caught Junne allegedly accepting the remaining Rs 1 lakh and arrested him on the spot, a senior IPS officer said.

Following the arrest, searches were conducted at Tawade’s office and vehicle, during which officials recovered Rs 6.34 lakh in cash. Two mobile phones belonging to Tawade were seized, while Junne’s mobile phone was also taken into custody. Further searches are expected at their residences. Both officers were arrested and will be produced before a court on Thursday.

However, this is not the first time Tawade has faced allegations. He joined the police force in 1992 and has served at several police stations in Mumbai, including Dahisar and Kandivali, as well as in the traffic department. In 2020, while posted at Dahisar police station, he was named in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation related to an alleged land grab.

In that case, the CBI had registered an FIR against Tawade and five others – including the then senior inspector, an ACP, an API and two sub-inspectors – under charges of criminal conspiracy and fabricating false evidence against a developer. Tawade was suspended and later reinstated.

Recent ACB actions

Last week, the ACB arrested a clerk of the Food and Drug Administration, Rajendra Dherange, for allegedly accepting a Rs 35,000 bribe at Mantralaya on February 12. Apart from the trap amount, officials recovered Rs 43,000 in unaccounted cash from him.

In September last year, Senior Inspector Chandrakant Sarode and Sub-Inspector Rahul Waghmode of Wadala TT police station were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes. Sarode was caught taking Rs 2 lakh, while Waghmode allegedly accepted Rs 30,000. In that case, the complainant had approached the ACB after the officers allegedly demanded money to avoid naming his daughter in an FIR and to refrain from taking action against a rival group.