Cop detected 58 crimes: Court; grants 4 years minimum prescribed jail term in '16 graft case
Mumbai: A special court on Wednesday convicted former assistant police inspector (API) Suresh Naik (65) in a 2016 corruption case, but sentenced him to the minimum prescribed four years' of rigorous imprisonment.
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The court observed that Naik committed misconduct as a public servant by breaching integrity and honesty, thereby tarnishing the image of public service, but noting his extensive service as an investigating officer, which led to the successful prosecution of culprits in 58 crimes, the judge awarded the minimum prescribed prison sentence and imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine.
Naik was charged under Sections 7 and 13(1)(d) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deal with public servants accepting illegal gratification and criminal misconduct, for demanding and accepting bribe from Ramkrishna Kute, then a 50-year-old driver employed with BMC's executive engineer of transport city who was trapped in a corruption case.
On March 25, 2016, Kute was arrested after an acquaintance, Surve, misused his name and collected Rs 4 lakh from a chawl resident promising to reduce his water bill. It was alleged that of this amount, Rs 50,000 was handed to Kute. He was later released on bail, with a condition to attend Parksite police station every Thursday and Sunday. On May 5, 2016, Naik, who was the investigating officer in the case, demanded a bribe of Rs 5.3 lakh from Kute to show undue favour in an ongoing investigation and to cancel mandatory police station attendance.
Two days later, Kute approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau. A trap was laid near Vikhroli police station and Naik was caught accepting the first instalment of Rs 30,000 from Kute.
In a 172-page judgment sentencing Naik, special judge Shashikant Eknathrao Bangar said, "Though the accused served dutifully as a police officer for a long time, his misconduct during the incident in question casts serious doubt." The judge denied Naik's claims of false implication by Kute.
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Seeking leniency in sentencing, Naik submitted that as a police officer who investigated several crimes and arrested many criminals, his personal security could be severely prejudiced if he were sentenced to jail. Naik was out on bail during pendency of the trial.
Public prosecutor Prabhakar J Tarange cited the depositions of nine witnesses, including Kute, to seek Naik's conviction.
The Rs 30,000 seized during the trap was ordered to be confiscated to the state.
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