Excise inspector held for offering bribe to withdraw complaint

An inspector with the state Excise department here was arrested for allegedly giving Rs 15 lakh to a female employee of the department to withdraw her complaint of molestation against him, ACB said today.
Rajendra Shirsat (47), inspector with the C-1 division of the state Excise department, was caught late last night by the ACB team while he was giving the money to the complainant on the Eastern Express Highway at Vikhroli in suburban Mumbai, ACB Thane Range SP Datta Karale told reporters here.
The woman, who worked in the same department, had earlier filed a police complaint of molestation against Shirsat under section 354 of the IPC, he said.

Shirsat asked her not to pursue the complaint and to withdraw it, he offered her Rs 50 lakhs and also to help her in getting a transfer.
The aggrieved woman later lodged a complaint in this regard with the ACB which laid a trap and caught the accused last night at around 10 PM when he was giving Rs 15 lakhs to her, Karale said.
An offence under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused with the Shri Nagar police station in the city, the ACB added.