Surat: Three policemen attached to Panoli police station in Bharuch district were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday while allegedly accepting a Rs 1 lakh bribe, the first instalment of a purported Rs 3 lakh demand for returning a mobile phone seized in a prohibition case.The arrested personnel are head constables Anirudhh Dhadhal and Jaydipsinh Parmar, and Lok Rakshak Police Constable Sagar Chavda.According to ACB officials, the complainant’s mobile phone was seized when he was arrested in a prohibition case. After obtaining bail, he approached the police station to recover his phone. Instead of following the prescribed procedure, the three policemen allegedly demanded Rs 3 lakh to return the device.Unable to pay the entire amount, the complainant allegedly negotiated to pay the bribe in three instalments, to which the accused agreed. Before making the first payment, however, he approached the ACB and lodged a complaint.Acting on the complaint, the ACB laid a trap and caught the three policemen allegedly accepting Rs 1 lakh, the first instalment of the bribe, inside a container being used as the detection staff office outside Panoli police station.The accused were arrested on the spot, and the ACB has launched a detailed investigation into the alleged bribery, the handling of the seized property and whether any other officials were involved.
