Srinagar- A special court on Saturday sentenced an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) rank Jammu and Kashmir police officer to one year jail over accusations of demanding and accepting a bribe.
The Special Judge of Anti-Corruption Court Chain Lal Bavoria convicted ASI Mushtaq Ahmad under sections 5(2) PC Act and 161 RPC and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for one year and pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- under each offence, a spokesperson of the anti-graft body said Saturday. The court further announced that in case of default in payment of fine, the accused shall undergo further imprisonment for one month under each offence.
“The convict has been taken into custody and sent to Central Jail Srinagar for serving the sentence,” the spokesperson said.
Giving details of the case, he said, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, posted at Charar-e-Sharief, Budgam, was trapped on the basis of a complaint by Abdul Rashid Chopan on September 19, 2008 alleging that the officer demanded bribe from him when he was transporting 3 quintals of rice purchased by him from a government ration Depot in Nagam in a sumo towards his home.
“On his way he was intercepted by ASI Mushtaq Ahmad Shah of Police Station Charar-e-Sharief, Budgam who took him along with rice to Nowhar, Charar-e-Sharief where he demanded and accepted bribe of Rs. 500/- from the complainant but returned only 2 quintals of rice to him,” the spokesperson said.
The accused officer, he said, handed over the remaining one quintal of rice to a shopkeeper and demanded a further bribe of Rs. 1000 Chopan. The complainant, he said, persuaded the accused who agreed to accept Rs. 500 only to settle the issue. The bribe was agreed to be paid on 19-09-2008.
“However, the complainant lodged a complaint with VOK (now ACB) and accordingly a team of officers of VOK was constituted to lay a trap for the accused public servant. The team laid a successful trap and arrested ASI Mushtaq Ahmad Shah red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe. The tainted money was recovered from his possession,” the spokesperson said.