Nashik police team lands in Aurangabad unit ACB net

Aurangabad: A four-member Nashik city police team was arrested by the Aurangabad unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau ( ACB ) for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 from a city-based woman late on Friday evening.

This is the first time in Marathwada region that an entire police team has landed in the ACB net.

The accused policemen were led by an assistant inspector-rank officer who, on August 15, was awarded the prestigious DG’s Insignia Medal.

The team, led by assistant inspector from Nashik’s Adgaon police station, was in Aurangabad to investigate a theft case. They had demanded the bribe from the 25-year-old woman complainant, whose brother was in their custody in the theft case.

A case against the four cops — assistant inspector Yogesh Patil, police naiks Anil Kedare and Mithun Gaikwad and constable Pradeep Jondhale — was registered with the MIDC Cidco police station on Saturday morning. A local court remanded them in two days of police custody.

According to ACB officials, the police custody of the theft accused was to end on Saturday. The Nashik police team, which reached Aurangabad on Friday, conducted a search at the woman complainant’s home in Chaudhari colony of Chikalthana during a family function.

“The team also brought the theft suspect with them in handcuffs. In her complaint to the ACB, the woman said police naik Kedare called her on the mobile phone and demanded Rs 10,000 while warning her that her brother would be framed in another case if the family refused to pay up,” said the ACB officials.

The woman immediately approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. A team from the bureau later discovered Kedare had taken the consent of assistant inspector Patil before settling for Rs 4,000 in bribe from the woman. Interestingly, the cops sent the theft suspect to collect the bribe on their behalf. Aurangabad police said the theft suspect would be made an approver in the case against the Nashik police.

“The operation to lay the trap for the Nashik police team was completed within three hours,” said superintendent of police (ACB), Arvind Chawria. “Any citizen, including students, who have been asked to pay bribe by a government servant can reach out to me via my phone numbers: 9923105500 or 8530255500,” he added.

Meanwhile, the theft suspect was taken back to Nashik by another police team.