ASI gets 4-year jail in bribery case

The court of Faridabad’s additional sessions judge Surendra Kumar on Thursday sentenced an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Faridabad police to four years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 in a bribery case.

In this case, despite the complainant's retraction, the voice recording presented by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) proved conclusive. The convicted ASI had demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh, out of which he had taken Rs 70,000 from the complainant.

The case came to light on July 7, 2023 when a labor contractor Srinivas, a resident of Nangla Enclave Part 1 had filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Faridabad. He stated in his complaint that he had a dispute with a company regarding the payment of his PF. A complaint was lodged by the company against Srinivas at the Mujesar police station.

ASI Jaspal, posted at the Mujesar police station, summoned Srinivas to investigate the matter. The two parties reached a settlement, however, a bribe of Rs 1 lakh was demanded in exchange. Srinivas gave Rs 70,000 but was pressurized to pay the remaining Rs 30,000.

According to an ACB official, ASI Jaspal also verbally abused Srinivas over the phone regarding the outstanding amount, which Srinivas recorded. He then stored the recording on a pen drive and gave it to the ACB. After receiving a complaint, the ACB team laid a trap and arrested the accused ASI Jaspal while accepting a bribe.

“In this case, during his testimony, the complainant himself turned hostile in court. He refused to identify as the ASI. However, the pen drive submitted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau became the basis for proving the ASI guilty,” said an official of ACB.