Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau registers case against 'police middleman' for seeking Rs 21 lakh bribe

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The Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against a man for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 21 lakh from a person, against whom the police had issued notices for questioning in a drugs case, officials said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

The accused, Kapil Changrani, allegedly acted as a middleman of two police personnel to demand the bribe, they said, reported PTI.

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The first information report (FIR) was registered against him at the Sion police station in Mumbai on Friday under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"The case has roots in a raid conducted by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Navi Mumbai police in July, wherein it seized drugs and arrested two persons. The police then issued two notices against a man, who is a complainant in the present case, for interrogation in the drugs case. However, the complainant did not appear before them," ACB (Palghar) Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dayanand Gawade, said in a release, reported PTI.

Later, Changrani approached the complainant as a middleman of two police personnel, and made a demand of Rs 25 lakh from him to settle the case, the official said, reported PTI.

Changrani later brought down the amount to Rs 21 lakh, he said, reported PTI.

After the victim approached the Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau, the agency verified his complaint and then filed a case against Changrani.

The anti-graft agency is probing the case.

In another case, a 42-year-old woman doctor from Maharashtra's Thane district lost more than Rs 30 lakh after a caller lured her into buying cryptocurrency, police said on Friday, reported PTI.

The victim, a resident of Khoni in Dombivli, in her complaint said the incident occurred between August 2 and 6, an official of Manpada police station in Kalyan division said, reported PTI.

"As per the complaint, the doctor received a call claiming that a parcel allegedly sent by her to Thailand on July 24 contained suspicious items. The caller falsely stated that the parcel included three passports, three SIM cards and MD drugs, among other things," he said, reported PTI.

The victim was then tricked into downloading a mobile application and was lured into purchasing cryptocurrency worth Rs 30,86,535. She transferred the amount to different bank accounts as instructed, he said, reported PTI.

Probe into the case is underway, the official said.

(With inputs from PTI)