ACB records statements of 36 cops suspended for taking bribe

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has started recording statements of the policemen, from Nehru Nagar police station, who had been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act after they were allegedly caught on camera while accepting bribe during a sting operation conducted by a Kurla resident.ndentHT Correspondent

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has started recording statements of the policemen, from Nehru Nagar police station, who had been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act after they were allegedly caught on camera while accepting bribe during a sting operation conducted by a Kurla resident.

Sources in the ACB told HT that a special team under Ajit Sawant, additional deputy commissioner of police, ACB, began recording the statements of the implicated policemen in small groups of 8-10, on Saturday.

Raj Khilnani, director general, ACB, said, “As a first step, the statement of the implicated policemen is being recorded, before the probe moves further.”

Sources meanwhile, said ACB is also preparing the transcripts (of the conversation between the whistleblower with the policemen during the exchange of graft) from the mirror image of the 21 CDs of the sting operation that the ACB has taken into its possession. The originals have been sent to the forensic lab to check their authenticity.

“Once the statements are prepared, the cops will be summoned individually and confronted with the transcripts,” a source said adding that the policemen would also be confronted with each other to establish the context of their act (why they were accepting money from a civilian).

This is being done to find out the facts amid allegations made by the whistle blower that the policemen accepted bribe to turn a blind eye towards an illegal construction in Chembur. The Chembur division assistant commissioner of police (ACP) MS Bhise has begun a departmental inquiry against the 36 policemen, while deputy commissioner of police, zone 6, Lakhmi Gautam is conducting a similar inquiry against Dhananjaya Bhagyatkar, senior inspector, Nehru Nagar police station.