RPF officer held for extorting Rs 2,000 from blind hawker

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials arrested an assistant sub-inspector of the Railway Protection Force (RPF)) while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from a blind hawker at Andheri railway station on Saturday.

The accused allegedly collected hafta regularly from hawkers and stall owners from the Andheri station vicinity for his superiors. Representation pic

The accused identified as Anna Bhagat is attached to the Andheri RPF police station, and after receiving a complaint from the vendor CBI officials laid a trap and caught Bhagat red-handed while accepting the bribe.u00a0"We have arrested Bhagat and interrogations are ongoing. A search at his office and residential premises will be conducted soon," said a CBI officer, on condition of anonymity.

According to CBI officers, the hawker sells Chikki outside Andheri (West) railway station, and was fed up with Bhagat's daily harassment demanding a bribe. The hawker alleged that Bhagat had demanded a bribe from him for not falsely implicating and arresting him in a theft case.

According to sources, Bhagat is infamous in the RPF department, and is nicknamed ‘The collector'. He allegedly collects hafta regularly from hawkers and stall owners from the vicinity for his superiors. "We have suspended Bhagat. Once we receive the documents from the CBI, we will take necessary action," said a top RPF official from Western Railway.u00a0