Two policemen bust through a trap, steal ACB's Rs 4 lakh bait money

AHMEDABAD: Two policemen in Sabarkantha district not only broke through a trap set for them by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB), but also managed to take the Rs 4 lakh 'bait' in marked and powdered currency notes with them, from a hotel near Daramali village on Idar-Himatnagar road. According to a senior ACB officer, head constable Piyush Patel and constable Ramesh Rathod of Jadar police station had been investigating a theft at the home of one Narendra Chaudhary (named changed) on May 22.
They began an inquiry and even identified a suspect, but later accused Chaudhary of staging the theft in cahoots with the suspect.
"Instead of filing an FIR, the two cops then negotiated with Chaudhary for a bribe and threatened to frame him. They got people to file anonymous applications accusing him of causing hurt, intimidation and abduction, to intensify the pressure on him," the officer said.
Accused cops wanted 10L to 'settle' case: ACB
The two cops had even put Narendra Chaudhary in preventive detention.
Patel and Rathod wanted Rs 10 lakh to 'settle' the case and agreed to accept the money in two instalments. Unwilling to pay the bribe, Chaudhary called the ACB helpline.
Gandhinagar ACB officials decided to set a "red handed trap" to catch the two 'corrupt' cops. In such instances, the agency provides numbered currency notes that are dusted with a nearly invisible phenolphthalein powder.
The powders will stick to the accused's hands when they touch the bribe. Once the accused are caught, their hands are dipped in an alkaline solution and will turn then pink, proving that they had touched the bribe.
On the ACB's instructions, Chaudhary met Patel and Rathod at the hotel near Daramali village, with the Rs 4 lakh that the agency provided. Chaudhary handed over the cash to the policemen, but as he prolonged the conversation the two cops deduced that a trap was in motion and fled in a car.
The Gandhinagar unit of the ACB has charged Patel and Rathod under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
ACB sources said that it is very rare for suspects to escape a trap after taking the bait money.
"If these two are caught with the ACB's marked currency, no additional charges will be filed. If they destroy the currency notes, they will be charged with destruction of evidence," a senior ACB officer said.