The officials also booked the API, Surinder Ghegadmal, under sections pertaining to destruction of evidence as the API had apparently managed to hide the cash before the police could catch him.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday arrested an assistant police inspector (API) for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from a delivery person working for an app-based service in lieu of waiving off his e-challan.
The officials also booked the API, Surinder Ghegadmal, under sections pertaining to destruction of evidence as the API had apparently managed to hide the cash before the police could catch him.
According to the ACB officials, the complainant was on his way to deliver food on his bike on Sunday when he was caught by the cop for halting on the zebra crossing near Thakur complex junction in Kandivali.
“He forcefully removed the keys from the bike and asked him to park his vehicle at Dahisar traffic division,” said an official.
Ghegadmal then checked the fine on his e-challan device and found that the delivery person had not paid a penalty of Rs 8,000.
The officer asked him to pay instantly and after making him wait at the traffic division, he demanded a bribe of Rs 2,000 from the delivery person, officials said.
ACB spokesperson Nilam Waval said, “The delivery person sought a day’s time from Ghegadmal and, on Monday, came to our office and lodged a complaint.”
To catch the API red-handed, the officials gave the complainant a powder-coated note and asked him to hand it over to Ghegadmal.
“Used in trapping the corrupt persons, such notes are generally coated with phenolphthalein powder. When the accused is caught while accepting them, the powder sticks on their hand. The ACB officers then rinse the fingers of the accused in sodium carbonate solution. On coming in contact with the powder, the colourless solution reacts and turns pink, which acts as an evidence in the court,” explained an official.
Waval said, “The API accepted the bribe in his office at the traffic division and by the time our officers could go and catch him, he had managed to hide the currency.”
The police are yet to recover the currency note but as they detected the powder on the API’s clothes and fingers, they took him to the ACB office and placed him under arrest, an official said.
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