9 RPF cops arrested for taking bribe
Poornima Swaminathan
A full-fledged racket operating from Lokmanya Terminus was busted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday.
Nine policemen from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) were rounded up by the CBI for allegedly demanding a bribe from unreserved class passengers headed to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Prima facie, it appears the gang could be earning up to Rs30lakh every month.
According to CBI officers, the group only targeted trains headed to the two northern states as they ferried the maximum number of labourers.
Amongst those arrested include Joginder Singh, the constable who was caught red-handed accepting the bribe, police sub-inspector H Niranjan, assistant sub-inspector VL Warkhade and police constables Ravindra Wangle, Baban Tawde, RK Saili, MR Patel, RA Yadav and CR Farin. The suspects will be produced in court on Saturday.
According to the CBI, the group of policemen would allegedly demand a bribe of Rs100 from every passenger who had an unreserved ticket.
"If the passenger failed to pay up, he would be assaulted," said K Babu, deputy superintendent of police, ACB, CBI.
Some even demanded more money promising the passengers a "seat to sit".
The CBI believes this racket could also involve senior railway officials. "We will find out the entire nexus," said a senior CBI officer.