A sub-inspector who was honoured with an award by former Hyderabad Police Commissioner and present Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy, was picked by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Hyderabad this week. ACB officials arrested SI Sarangapani who was working at the Mir Chowk police station for demanding a bribe of Rs 2 lakh. Following the arrest, the image of the SI receiving the award went viral on social media.
NDTV reported that the SI had received an award from Mahender Reddy for prompt resolution of cases. ACB officials said that the bribe was sought with regard to a cheating case filed by one Anil Kumar, a former employee of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), who alleged in his complaint that his friend had cheated him last year.
After court orders, the accused in the case was arrested and the amount was recovered. However, the SI allegedly asked Anil to give him Rs 2 lakh to return the money, following which the complainant approached the ACB.
The ACB laid a trap when Anil carried Rs 50,000 as advance to hand over to the SI. The SI sent a constable to collect the money from Anil on Tuesday. The ACB caught the constable red-handed and later also nabbed the SI when the money was being handed over to him by the constable.
Both police officers were produced before a special ACB court and sent to judicial remand.
Just last month, ACB officials had laid a trap for Ghouse Khan, a sub-inspector who was working at the Asifnagar police station in Hyderabad, and nabbed him red-handed while taking a bribe. The SI had demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a complainant to stop harassing him. He had also threatened to file a case against him.
In June this year, an SI and constable were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe amount of Rs 20,000 for alleged official favours, from the relatives of an accused in a case.
The ACB has said that the general public can file complaints on a toll free number 1064, when government officials demand bribes.