Former Cop Convicted for Accepting Bribe
A special anti-corruption court sentenced a former senior police inspector of Oshiwara police station to three years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for demanding and accepting bribe. The accused, Arun Digambar Kulkarni, had demanded a bribe for not arresting seven people in a housebreaking and theft case.
In June 2002, the complainant, Mohammed Adam Sorthiya, a trustee of Sabri Masjid in Andheri, had along with a few of his accomplices, threw an Imam and his belongings out of the flat owned by the trust after the latter refused to vacate it. The Imam complained to the Oshiwara police station and filed a first information report against Sorthiya and seven others for housebreaking and theft.
Kulkarni demanded Rs 1 lakh from Sorthiya for not arresting him in the case. After negotiations, the price came down to Rs 50,000. On June 8, 2002, Sorthiya gave Rs 10,000 to Kulkarni and it was decided between them that the balance amount would be given on June 10. Sorthiya filed a complaint with the Anti Corruption Bureau which laid a trap at Oshiwara police station on June 10 and nabbed Kulkarni while accepting the bribe. Kulkarni was suspended following the arrest.
During the course of the trial, Public Prosecutor Dilip Shah examined five witnesses, including the complainant and the police witnesses. The defence argued that when the ACB laid a trap, there was a power cut and that it was not possible for the witnesses to see money changing hands. However, Special Judge D B Pujari sentenced Kulkarni for three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 50,000.
Kulkarni was later granted a bail for Rs 40,000 after he said that he wanted to appeal in the Bombay High Court.
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