Surat: Anti-corruption sleuths caught a police inspector and a lawyer for allegedly taking a Rs 3 lakh bribe at Kim police station. A Rs 10 lakh bribe was first, but the amount was negotiated down to Rs 3 lakh, to not register an FIR against an accused under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC) Act. The complainant pawned his gold chain to get the money and pay the accused PI, anti-corruption bureau (ACB) officials informed. An ACB team from Ahmedabad caught PI Pravinsinh Jadeja and advocate Chirag Gondaliya red-handed while accepting Rs 3 lakh. According to the ACB, the case pertains to an offence registered at Kim police station in Surat district, against the complainant’s brother, for alleged involvement in a honey trap case, impersonation of a police officer and extortion. The complainant alleged that Jadeja, through Gondaliya, demanded Rs 10 lakh to not file an FIR under GujCTOC, to dilute charges and facilitate anticipatory bail. The complainant approached the ACB police station and lodged a complaint. During the trap, both accused allegedly held deliberate conversations with the complainant. According to the plan, Gondaliya accepted Rs 3 lakh at the instruction of Jadeja. ACB recovered the money from the accused at the spot. ACB stated that both the inspector and advocate colluded and assisted each other in committing the offence. The trap was laid by woman police inspector V D Chaudhary under the supervision of Ahmedabad ACB assistant director M D Mewada.
