Vigilance sleuths on Monday evening arrested Baleswar Town ASI Minaketan Pradhan on the charge of receiving graft of Rs10,000 from a person of Nilgiri through a middleman to strike out his name from the charge-sheet of a kidnapping case.
Acting on the complaint of Basant Panda of Baunsabania village, the Vigilance police laid a trap and caught Pradhan red-handed while accepting the bribe amount from middleman Chhaganlal Gupta, a businessman, on behalf of Panda.
According Basant, ASI Pradhan had demanded Rs50,000 to strikeout his name from the final charge-sheet of a kidnapping case in which he, his son and three other members his family were made accused. His son had allegedly kidnapped a college girl in February 2014.
Basant said he had already paid Rs30,000 to Pradhan. But when he visited the PS on Sunday as per anticipatory bail condition, Pradhan beat him severely and demanded the rest bribe amount.
“Pradhan had demanded Rs50,000 to strikeout Basant’s name from the list of accused persons. Basanta had also paid Rs30,000 earlier. Pradhan was caught while taking Rs10,000 out of pending Rs20,000 through the middleman, “ said Baleswar DSP Madhusdan Behera.