Fake poppy husk case: Narcotics officer, aide held for taking Rs 3 lakh bribe

Bhopal, July 18 (IANS) The CBI arrested an officer of Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) and his middleman for taking a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from a Rajasthan farmer whom they had threatened to implicate in a false case of illegally stocking poppy husk, an official said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case on July 17 against Mahendra Singh, Inspector, Central Bureau of Narcotics, Neemuch, and middleman Jagdish Meneriya, a resident of district Chittorgarh, on the complaint of Mangi Lal Gurjar, a resident of Chittorgarh.

Gurjar alleged that the CBN officer demanded a bribe through his middleman for not implicating him and his family in a narcotics case after conducting a raid on the complainant’s agricultural land on March 27.

The Central Bureau of Narcotics, affiliated with the Department of Revenue, has the main function to stop opium production and trade without a licence.

After the raid in March, the CBN officer informed the family members of Gurjar to contact Jagdish Menariya, a resident of village Aala Khedi, Tehsil Doongla, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

Gurjar said in his complaint that Menariya contacted him to inform that CBN officer Mahendra Singh had seized 400 kg Doda-Chura (Poppy husk) from his agricultural land.

On behalf of the officer, Menariya demanded a bribe of Rs 1 crore for not implicating him as well as his family members, in a narcotics case, said the complaint.

The complainant said during negotiations the CBN officer mounted pressure on him to pay Rs 9 lakh as the first instalment of bribe to escape imprisonment.

On receiving Gurjar’s complaint, the CBI laid a trap on Friday and apprehended the middleman red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from the complainant on behalf of the CBN officer.

The bribe amount was successfully recovered from the said middleman, who collected the bribe on the direction of said CBN Officer, said a CBI statement.

After the interception of the middleman, the CBI raided three locations in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

A preliminary CBI, ACB, Jaipur’s report before the filing of the FIR said, “The complaint of Mangi Lal Gurjar, son of Onkar Lal Gurjar, has been verified by the CBI, Jaipur, which revealed demand of undue advantage of Rs 9 lakh for not implicating him as well as his family members in a case of narcotics.”

--IANS

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