The Haryana government anti-corruption bureau (ACB) arrested three crime branch officials of Faridabad police for bribery and attempting to extort ₹1 lakh from a scrap trader after threatening to implicate him in a theft case, said officials on Wednesday.
ACB officials said that the arrested suspects were assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sanjay Kumar and head constables Mohammad Khalid and Mohammad Farrukh. They said the trio were posted in Sector 65 crime branch unit. The arrests took place on Monday and they were forwarded to judicial custody after production before court on Tuesday.
The ASI was arrested while accepting ₹25,000 from the trader on Monday after which the two head constables were also arrested when their involvement was also established from the ASI’s questioning, officials said.
Officials said that the trader had alleged that the trio had reached his warehouse in Ajji colony, Ballabhgarh last month.
A senior official said that the trio threatened the trader’s father that they had busted a theft gang and one of the members had disclosed during interrogation that he had sold some of the stolen items at their scrap shop for several lakhs.
“They took away his father for questioning at the Sector 65 crime branch office. Soon, the complainant and his father’s friend also reached there. However, they were stopped at the entrance by a constable,” said the official.
Later, they had allowed the friend of the trader’s father to go inside and the police personnel threatened them that either the suspect pays ₹1 lakh or he will be arrested and sent to jail for connivance with the theft gang, the official said, adding that the ASI had later agreed to take ₹25,000 out of ₹1 lakh.
Later, the trader submitted a complaint at the Faridabad ACB police station regarding the incident.
“The allegations were found to be true after an inquiry by ACB following which an FIR was registered against the ASI under various provisions of the Preventions of Corruption Act on Monday and the raid was carried out to arrest him while accepting the bribe money,” he said.
ACB officials said that further investigation was going on the case. Faridabad police public relations officer Yashpal Yadav said that the trio have been placed under suspension with immediate effect and a department proceeding will be separately carried out against them along with the legal action by the ACB.