Five including SI, Town Planning Supervisor held for bribery

Sleuths of Telangana’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested five persons in two different cases of bribery in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

The arrested include one each Sub-Inspector of Police, police constable, town planning supervisor, outsourcing employee and a private person.

In one case, police constable S Shankar, working at Bhadrachalam police station demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs. 20000 at the behest of Sub-Inspector M Srinivas and private technician of CC cameras K Naveen Kumar from the complainant Marri Sai Teja for not registering a criminal case and releasing the mobile phones and auto-rickshaw.

Official sources said the Blue Colts team had earlier caught Sai Teja and two others when they were transporting four bags of sugar stolen from a shop. However, Naveen Kumar, who regularly ‘negotiates deals with police’, intervened after which the SI and the constable let off Sai Teja and two others.

But the police did not release the mobile phones of the accused persons and the auto-rickshaw in which they were transporting the stolen sugar bags. Instead, the cops demanded a bribe of Rs. 25,000 to release the phones and auto. After negotiations, the cops agreed to accept bribe of Rs. 20,000.

Sai Teja approached the ACB and filed a complaint. Consequently, ACB laid a trap and waited near the police station. Initially, Shankar accepted the bribe and informed the SI about the same. Immediately, the SI reached the police station and handed over the mobile phones and auto-rickshaw. Soon after that, ACB team nabbed the SI and the police constable. On their confession, the ACB team also arrested Naveen Kumar.

The bribe money was recovered from the accused police officials. A chemical test conducted on them yielded positive results, ACB officials said.

In another case of corruption, ACB sleuths arrested Lakkireddy Venkata Ramani, working as Town Planning Supervisor in Palvancha municipality and Perabattula Prasanna Kumar, outsourcing employee when they demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs. 15,000 for processing the LRS applications of the complainant.

The five arrested accused were produced before the designated court and sent to judicial custody.

Telangana ACB appealed to the people to contact ACB toll free number 1064 if any public servant demands bribe.