Thane cop booked for seeking bribe in case he was probing

A cop from Thane Police in Maharashtra was booked by the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly seeking bribe in a case he was probing, ACB officials said on Thursday, reported the PTI.

The cop, an assistant police inspector (API) was booked for allegedly demanding a bribe in Thane district of Maharashtra, the official said.

According to the PTI, API Kailas Jaywant Tokhle of the Crime Unit I of Kashimira police station has not been arrested as yet, the official said.

“He sought Rs 10 lakh from a man whose brother is an accused in a cheating and forgery case filed in Virar police station. Tokhle, who is investigating officer in the case, sought the bribe to ensure the accused gets bail,” the official said, the news agency reported on Thursday.

The Thane unit of the ACB is probing the case further, he added.

Meanwhile, last month, the ACB had booked an assistant commissioner of state tax and some other officers of the Maharashtra GST department allegedly for demanding a bribe of Rs 1 crore from a company`s director to settle a pending tax matter, officials said.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau registered the case under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Arjun Suryawanshi, the assistant commissioner of state tax (investigation branch), and other officers on February 2, newswire PTI reported on Tuesday.

Section 7 of the act deals with an offence related to a public servant being bribed.

The FIR was registered after a letter was written by the special commissioner of state tax and chief vigilance officer to Maharashtra director general of police (ACB) seeking an investigation into the alleged corruption by officers of the investigation branch of the state tax, the officials said.

During the probe, it came to light that Suryawanshi and his team conducted raids between July 5 and August 7 last year on a firm, which had an outstanding tax of more than Rs 20 crore, said the official.

Despite several reminders, the firm`s director did not pay the pending tax, following which the GST department officials visited his office and residence also, he said.

On August 21, Suryawanshi allegedly sent a WhatsApp message demanding Rs 1 crore from the firm`s director to settle the tax matter, said the official.

The bribe demand was confirmed (though no money exchanged hands) during investigation after which the FIR was registered, he said, adding further probe was underway.

(with PTI inputs)