Traffic head constable in Lokayukta net for accepting ₹5,000 bribe

The Mangaluru Lokayukta Police arrested a police head constable attached to the Mangaluru East Traffic Police Station while he was allegedly accepting a ₹5,000 bribe from the complainant on Thursday in Mangaluru.

An official release here identified the accused government servant as Taslim. He was accepting the bribe to release the original driving license of a car driver involved in an accident, Lokayukta Police said.

The complainant told the Lokayukta police that he had surrendered the car and its original documents as directed by Taslim after the vehicle was involved in an accident with a scooter at Nanthoor Circle. When the accused demanded a ₹50,000 bribe to release the vehicle and documents, the complainant, along with his advocate, visited the police station to obtain the car’s release. However, the head constable forcibly took the complainant’s mobile phone and later returned it after obtaining his original DL. Another head constable, Vinod, was also involved in the deal, Lokayukta police said.

The accused constable further demanded a ₹30,000 bribe to return the original DL and finally agreed to ₹5,000 after bargaining on July 9. He was caught by the Lokayukta police while accepting ₹5,000 on July 10. While cases were registered against Taslim as well as Vinod, the former was taken into custody for further investigation.

The trap operation was conducted under the direction of Superintendent of Police (in-charge) Kumarachandra, Deputy SPs Gana P. Kumar and P. Suresh Kumar, inspectors G. Bharathi and K.N. Chandrashekhar and the staff.