Mumbai sub-inspector seeks bribe of Rs 3 lakh for releasing man detained in drugs case, booked

“We have not arrested the accused as he was not caught red-handed. We have registered a case based on the demand for money, which was confirmed during our verification,” an ACB officer said.

The police said that the officer told the complainant, a South Mumbai resident, that he would have to pay the bribe to save his brother who was detained at Dongri police station on October 14.

As the complainant was not ready to yield to the demand, he approached anti-corruption agency headquarters on October 16, and filed a written complaint against the public servant.

“When the arrested person’s brother went to the police station to inquire about the matter, he was told that his brother had been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” said an ACB official.

Further threats

The 30-year-old was further threatened saying that the police would book his brother for possessing drugs in a commercial quantity, which would keep him in jail for a longer duration.

“The complainant was told that he would not be granted bail and could face imprisonment for seven to eight years,” the officer added.

Yedage further told the complainant that to avoid his brother being charged with possessing a commercial quantity of drugs, he would have to pay Rs 3 lakh. After negotiations, the officer agreed to help for Rs 2.7 lakh, the investigators said.

“Based on the complaint, we found that the public servant had demanded and agreed to accept a bribe of Rs 70,000 (after negotiation) from the complainant to prevent his brother from being charged in a commercial quantity case. This constituted an attempt to obtain illegal gratification,” said an officer.

The arrested person was jailed for around two months, and since the complainant was also unwell, the ACB officials stated that a case was only registered on January 8.