Noida cop suspended following bribery allegations

The SHO was allegedly heard talking to a man who appears to have been running an illegal sand mining business that had been hit because the administration was enforcing the law when his trucks passed through areas under the Jewar police station.

The station house officer of Jewar police station, SS Bhati, was suspended on Friday for allegedly taking bribes from a person involved in illegal sand mining. The move comes after an audio clip — in which the police officer allegedly spoke to a person believed to be linked with the sand mafia — had emerged last week.

The station house officer of Jewar police station was suspended on Friday for allegedly taking bribes from a person involved in illegal sand mining. (HT Photo)

The SHO is purportedly heard advising the person on how to proceed with the mining operations in the audio clip, a police officer said.

The clip was leaked on August 3 and had soon found its way to social media where it was circulated widely.

In the audio clip, SHO Bhati is allegedly heard talking to a man who appears to have been running an illegal sand mining business that had been hit because the administration was enforcing the law when his trucks passed through areas under the Jewar police station.

In the clip, the man said he has been paying off the policemen nearly ₹1 lakh in bribes to carry on his business. But the police hadn’t kept their side of the bargain. This, he said, caused him a loss of ₹50,000 each night.

The man on the other side of the phone line, alleged to be SS Bhati, blames the stringent checks on the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Jewar, Gunja Singh.

In the audio clip, Bhati allegedly said she is a “different kind” of woman who will report the matter to senior officials, and advised the businessman to just “talk to” someone in the SDM’s office for help. The man, in turn, replied that he has been paying enough already and now he would have to pay off someone in the SDM’s office as well. Bhati allegedly also said that it wasn’t possible to know in advance which official will carry out the check.

In the clip, the businessman informed the SHO that there are other mafias operating in the area, and also asked him whether he should resume the operations or not.

On his part, the police officer said he had instructed a ‘driver’ on what to do with the trucks passing via his area.

Despite repeated attempts, SHO Bhati could not be reached for his version.

Bhati was transferred to the police lines soon after the audio tape emerged.

A probe into the alleged bribery charges against the SHO was conducted by Gautam Budh Nagar superintendent of police (rural) Kuwar Ranvijay Singh.

“Based on conclusion of the investigation, the SHO was found guilty and he was suspended with immediate effect. He was colluding with the other person for a bribe,” Singh said

According to the SP (rural), in his defence, Bhati said that he was asking the mafia to talk to an official in the SDM office.

Police have identified the person in the audio clip and also questioned him. “Due action will be taken against him as well, though he said that the conversation was about something else,” said Singh.

Meanwhile, the SDM (Jewar), who was mentioned in the audio clip, said that the administration will check for illegal mining in the area and action will be taken accordingly.