Mumbai Police’s lawyer asks for ₹5-lakh bribe, arrested

According to the officials, public prosecutor Mangesh Arote is representing the Mumbai Police in the Himalaya Bridge collapse case. On March 14, the bridge near CSMT collapsed, killing seven and injuring over 31 people.

The city anti-corruption bureau (ACB) officials arrested a 39-year-old public prosecutor on Thursday while he was accepting a bribe of ₹50,000 from a man accused in a forgery case. According to the officials, public prosecutor Mangesh Arote is representing the Mumbai Police in the Himalaya Bridge collapse case. On March 14, the bridge near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) collapsed, killing seven and injuring over 31 people. The Azad Maidan police had arrested four accused on charges of culpable homicide, including a retired chief engineer.

According to the officials, public prosecutor Mangesh Arote is representing the Mumbai Police in the Himalaya Bridge collapse case. Image used for representative purpose. (AFP file photo)

The ACB officials said Arote had demanded a bribe of ₹5 lakh for arguing in favour of an accused in a Mumbai Crime Branch case of 2006. Arote was the public prosecutor for a forgery case in which two businessmen were booked. They were arrested and later charge sheeted in the case and are currently out on bail.

The two had moved an application in the court seeking deletion of certain sections from the case.

Arote allegedly demanded ₹5 lakh from one of the accused for not arguing against them during the court hearing. As the accused did not want to pay Arote, he filed a complaint with ACB, the official added. ACB officials verified his complaint and arrested Arote in the court premises while he was accepting ₹50,000. Arote has been booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.