Mumbai Crime Branch cop nabbed by ACB for bribery

A Mumbai Police Crime Branch inspector was Tuesday caught along with with his driver while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 22 lakh in return for not acting against a wine shop owner, a Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau official said.

An ACB official identified the accused as inspector Anand Sitaram Bhoir of Unit X (Andheri) of the Crime Branch.

He said Bhoir had demanded Rs 25 lakh from the complainant for not arresting him in a case under Maharashtra Prohibition of Liquor Act.

After negotiations, the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 22 lakh, following which a complaint was made with the Mumbai unit of the ACB, he said.

On Tuesday, Bhoir and his driver were nabbed from a private vehicle while accepting the money in a trap laid at MIDC Andheri, he said.

Incidentally, Bhoir had in 2011, as sub-inspector with the Thane Rural police, assisted Mumbai police in cracking a sensitive kidnapping case, officials said.

Then Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik had praised him for his investigation skills.

Bhoir was earlier in the midst of a controversy for posing on social media with his service revolver.