In what could be seen as an embarrassment to the Mumbai Police, the Superintendent of Police of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai was arrested on Wednesday night on charges of bribery.
Vasudev Burkule and his deputy Pradip Pathrikar were arrested in a late night trap by the city police’s Anti-Corruption Bureau for accepting a bribe of Rs. 40,000 from a jail officer to clear him in his examination for the post of jailor.
The complainant had approached the ACB on Wednesday and complained to senior officers that Mr. Burkule has demanded Rs. 40,000 to clear his exams as his performance was “weak”. The candidate had appeared for an exam for the post on March 25, 2014. His papers had gone to Mr. Burkule for correction, the complaint stated.
Armed with spy cameras, the ACB asked the complainant to contact the other accused Mr. Pathrikar. Just minutes before raiding his residence in Central Mumbai, the complainant called up Mr. Burkule.
“The conversation between the complainant and the accused has been tapped by us. After the complainant handed over the bribe money to Mr. Pathrikar, we placed him under arrest. The conversation and the spy camera recording will serve as a clinching evidence against the duo,” additional Commissioner of Police, Vishwas Nangre Patil told The Hindu .
The team then raided the jailor’s home located inside the barracks in the Arthur Road jail. Immediately after the incident, the two were suspended from service. The duo have been remanded to police custody till April 19, 2014.
