ACB finds Rs70,000 more in trouser pockets of Arthur Road Jail superintendent arrested for bribery
The Anti-Corruption of Bureau (ACB), which arrested the superintendent of Arthur Road Jail and his deputy for allegedly accepting a bribe from a jail officer on Wednesday, is inquiring into the source of the Rs70,000 that was seized from him. It is exploring the possibility that the cash was collected from undertrials in the jail.The jail superintendent, Vasudev Burkule, and the deputy, Pradeep Patharikar, were arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs35,000 to increase the jail officer's marks in a departmental exam.
After Burkule was arrested, the ACB also found Rs70,000 in cash in his trouser pockets. "The amount is quite big considering the nature of Burkule's job. Since the amount was found in his trouser pockets, there is reason to believe that the cash was collected during the day," said a police official
"The ACB conducted searches at Burkule's official residence and seized Rs40 lakh cash. Several other valuables including fixed deposits and cash in savings accounts at several banks across the state were found," the official said. "Because of the general elections and a bank holiday we could not check his bank lockers. We may recover more cash and valuables from there," said Vishwas Nangre Patil, additional commissioner of police. "We are also checking Burkule's mobile phone records and scrutinizing the official landline phones that he used," said a police officer.
The jail officer had appeared for the departmental exam on March 25 and Burkule was to check the answer sheet. The examinee approached Patharikar, who said that the answer sheet was with Burkule and that he was checking it too. "Patharikar told the jail officer that he had got less marks and that he may not clear the exam. But if he gave Rs40,000 the marks could be increased," the police official said. The jail officer then approached to the ACB and registered a case on Wednesday.
He then met Burkule, who instructed him to hand over Rs35,000 to Patharikar, He met Patharikar at his official residence, where the ACB laid a trap and arrested him. Burkule was arrested subsequently.
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