Telangana: 10 bribe-taking cops walk free

Hyderabad: The state home department has closed 10 cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against police officers who were caught red-handed demanding and accepting bribes, most of them in 2015-16. 

The ACB filed the cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sought permission for prosecution. But the home department closed the cases. In the normal course, if the home department feels that such cases are unfit for prosecution, it should either send the file for departmental inquiry or to the tribunal, but not close the case.

All the 10 were suspended from duty, but the orders were revoked after the ACB completed its investigation and filed the chargesheet. 

Also, there are discrepancies in the status of the cases as shown in the home department and the ACB files. In certain cases, the home department says inquiry is pending, while the ACB records say FIR closed (court order awaited).

This was so in the case of Warangal Urban circle inspector K. Shiva Sambi Reddy, and four officers.

An RTI query filed with the home (special) department, seeking the ‘note files’ (details of the cases), and information on why the FIR was closed, elicited the response that  the information was exempted from disclosure.

Trial nod sought from department heads
The state home department has closed 10 cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against police officers who were caught red-handed demanding and accepting bribes, most of them in 2015-16. 

An RTI query elicited the response that the “Information sought falls under the ambit of exemption from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (h) of the RTI Act 2005 which cannot be furnished.”

In cases where the ACB has prior information of an offence and lays a trap to catch the officer accepting a bribe, the bribe amount is seized, an FIR is registered, the accused is arrested and produced before the district ACB court. 

The fingerprints of the accused are taken and sent for phenolphthalein test to establish evidence. After the investigation is completed, the ACB seeks prosecution permission from the heads of the concerned departments. 

Police personnel trapped by the Anti Corruption Bureau while demanding and accepting bribes

• Chevella Circle inspector B. Srinivas: Caught accepting bribe of Rs 10,000 to recover stolen articles. 
• Chevella head constable A. Nagendra: caught accepting bribe of Rs 10,000 to recover stolen articles.  
• Sub-inspector G. Sai Chandra Prasad: Demanded Rs 7,500. . 
• Home dept, assistant section officer B. Sravan Kumar Reddy: amount not disclosed. 
• Warangal Urban circle inspector K. Shiva Sambi Reddy: Rs 13,000. 
• Warangal Urban head constable D. Iylaiah: Rs 7,500. 
• Langer Houz sub-inspector B. Srinivas Rao: Rs 10,000. 
• Langer Houz head constable A. Ashok Reddy: Rs 5,000. 
• Vanasthalipuram inspector Y. Venkat Reddy: Rs 25,000 bribe to speed up a cheque bounce case of the complainant. 
• Rein Bazaar sub-inspector S. Srinivas caught inside the police station accepting Rs 10,000.