2 cops held for accepting bribe

A police sub-inspector (SI) and a havildar were arrested by vigilance sleuths today for allegedly accepting illegal gratification of Rs 10,000 to exonerate a youth of fictitious criminal charges In Deogarh district, vigilance sources said.
Sub-inspector Santoshi Mahanta and Havildar Nabaghan Sahu of Riamal police station were caught red handed in the police station while accepting the bribe from a complainant of Barapali village, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Deogarh, R N Patra said.
The complainant had informed the Superindent of Police, (vigilance), Deogarh, J N Pankaj that Sahu was demanding Rs 10,000 to destroy the purported case records against his son, he said.

The complainant had first paid Rs 8,000 in two instalments to the havildar but two raids were conducted on his house as the amount was Rs 2,000 less then the promised Rs 10,000, the DSP said.
The complainant, Ashok Pradhan, requested the havildar to help him out from being harassed repeatedly to which the havildar suggested that if he (Pradhan) paid another Rs 10,000 to the SI, the charges pending against his son would be destroyed from police records.
Finding no other way, Pradhan sought five days time to pay the money and met the vigilance SP Pankaj to inform him about his plight.

On being directed by Panjak, a vigilance squad led by Patra and his counterpart in Sambalpur district Rabindra Kumar Pradhan laid a trap and caught the duo. While Rs 8,000 was recovered from the SI, Rs 2,000 recovered from the Havildar, Patra said.
Preliminary investigation into the records revealed that the charges against Pradhan's son were found to be fictitious, Patra said adding further inquiry was on.