Faridabad police SI caught on bribery, extortion charges; dismissed from service

According to ACB officers associated with the case, SI Kumar had asked Manoj for the bribe in return for helping him in a cheating case registered against him on September 8. SI Kumar was the investigating officer of the case.

A sub-inspector (SI) posted at the Dhauj police station in Faridabad was dismissed from service while the station house officer (SHO) was placed under suspension after the Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) booked them on bribery and extortion charges, senior police officers said Wednesday.

An FIR at the ACB police station in Faridabad was registered against the duo for bribery and extortion on December 5.

Senior officers of Faridabad police said that the SI, Sumit Kumar, 31, was caught while accepting ₹1.5 lakh from a Kurukshetra based businessman, Manoj Kumar, 43, at a farm house near Dhauj police station on December 5.

According to ACB officers associated with the case, SI Kumar had asked Manoj for the bribe in return for helping him in a cheating case registered against him on September 8. SI Kumar was the investigating officer of the case. Manoj in his complaint to ACB on December 5 had also alleged that inspector Naresh Kumar, 54, the suspended SHO of Dhauj police station, had already taken ₹15 lakh from him in November to settle the case, while the SI was demanding ₹1.5 lakh additional for himself.

“Following this complaint, an FIR at the ACB police station in Faridabad was registered against the duo for bribery and extortion on December 5,” said a senior ACB officer.

Abhishek Jorwal, Faridabad deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (headquarters), said that the SI was dismissed from service on Monday as per the rules of the Haryana Police Service Rules.

“After suspension, a departmental proceeding has been initiated against the inspector. ACB will take further action in the case as per evidence surfaces during their investigation against the duo,” Jorwal said.

“There is direct evidence against the SI as he was caught accepting the bribe money but the role of the SHO will only become clear after further investigation,” said the ACB officer.

ACB officers said that Manoj owns a GPS equipment installation firm for vehicles. He gives a six-month guarantee on his equipment. However, a Dhauj-based trader, Rahul Kumar, 33, had got the equipment installed in his vehicles in September first week but they malfunctioned just after 12 days but the seller refused to replace them. Following this Rahul had got an FIR for cheating registered against Manoj at Dhauj police station on September 8.

“Manoj had alleged that the inspector and SI had demanded bribes for settling this case in his favour, following which he approached us,” said an ACB officer, adding that the case has been transferred to their Gurugram unit for further investigation.