Mumbai: Cop held for graft faces disproportionate assets case
An officer from ACB said, "We will be assessing his bank accounts and transactions. We will also be finding out if the properties are legitimate. We are checking all the loan documents related to the properties."
Two days after a senior police inspector of Mahim police was arrested on corruption charges, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) is checking the legitimacy of the properties owned by the accused.
Dastagir Mulla, 58, was arrested by the ACB on Friday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs10,000 from a complainant. On Saturday, he was granted bail. However, on raiding his residence in Bandra (East), ACB sleuths recovered Rs30,000 in cash, 10 tolas of gold, documents related to houses he owned in Nalasopara and Mira Road, three bank passbooks and some share certificates.
An officer from ACB said, "We will be assessing his bank accounts and transactions. We will also be finding out if the properties are legitimate. We are checking all the loan documents related to the properties."
The houses were worth Rs6 lakh and Rs8 lakh when they were bought about a few years back. Mulla has three sons, one of them is a consultant, and another, a banker. One of his daughters-in-law is also a working professional. "Since his two sons are well settled, it is possible that the properties were bought jointly by the family legally. Whatever was seized from his house could be rightfully his, as he has been in the service for over 30 years. We will be able to ascertain this once we check his transactions, loans and bank records," said an ACB official.
If the investigations reveal that properties and other valuables were earned illegally, the accused will be booked under Disproportionate Assets (DPA) case.
According to the complainant, there was a case registered against him at Mahim police station by his landlord alleging that he was not ready to vacate the house. The complainant had said he had got into an agreement of five years, and hence, was living in the house rightfully. A few days back, Mulla allegedly called up the complainant and demanded Rs25,000 to not take any action against him and to make him and his landlord come to an understanding.
The bribe amount was brought down to Rs10,000 after negotiation. The complainant then approached the ACB, after which a trap was set and Mulla was arrested red-handed by while accepting the bribe.