Noida: Police head constable among two held over corruption charges
A video of the incident surfaced on social media following which the police personnel was suspended and arrested
The Gautam Budh Nagar police have registered an FIR against a police head constable for allegedly taking a bribe of ₹2,000 from an arrested suspect who was seeking to postpone his appearance date before the Sector 6 magistrate court, senior officers said on Friday.
A video of the incident surfaced on social media following which the police personnel was suspended and arrested. The person giving the bribe has also been arrested under Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to Manish Mishra, additional deputy commissioner of police, the suspended official is identified as head constable Rahul Kumar, a resident of Sector 40, Noida.
“Kumar was posted as a court clerk in the office of assistant commissioner of police/special executive magistrate 2 in Sector 6. He is accused of taking ₹2,000 bribe from a man named Vicky, a resident of Khoda in Ghaziabad, who is a repeat offender, and is out on bail,” said the ADCP.
A video of the alleged bribery incident, which surfaced on social media on Thursday, shows the person making the video walking into an office where Kumar is seated along with another individual. A conversation takes place, allegedly on granting bail and fixing a court date. As Kumar looks through a register, the person hands him a few ₹500 notes. He takes the money, counts it and puts it away. The conversation continues.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
After the video was released, Noida police said Kumar had been suspended.
“The exact date when the video was shot is yet to be ascertained; it is suspected to be a month old. The video was shot by Vicky, in an attempt to blackmail the officer later. An FIR has been registered in the matter at the Phase-1 police station under sections 7, 12, 13 (all related to bribery) under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Kumar as well as Vicky have been arrested on Friday and sent to judicial custody after being produced before a local court,” said Mishra.
Senior police officers further informed that Vicky has several cases registered against him at police stations in Ghaziabad and Noida under charges of Section 272 (adulteration of drinks) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
“Most recently, Vicky was booked at the Sector 24 police station under section 151 (preventive arrest) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, about three months ago. He was granted bail in this case later. In the video, Vicky was trying to delay the date of hearing of the bail, and since the clerk was asking for bribe, Vicky planned to record him taking the bribe and later blackmail him,” said a senior officer associated with the probe, asking not to be named.