The Court of Special Judge Assam on Wednesday convicted a police sub-inspector, Bhagyeswar Hazarika, for a case of bribery and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment. Rajib Saikia, Joint Director of DIPR, said that he has been sentenced to undergo 3 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3,000 in default of rigorous imprisonment of one month under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988.
“He has also been sentenced to 4 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 in default rigorous imprisonment of 2 months under Section 13(2) of the PC Act. Both sentences will run concurrently,” Rajib Saikia said. In a statement, Saikia said that a complaint was received on March 28, 2018 at the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Assam, alleging that SI (UB) Bhagyeswar Hazarika, posted at Bakalia Police Station in Karbi Anglong district, demanded Rs 3,000 as a bribe from the complainant for releasing his bike.
“Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant had approached the Directorate about taking the necessary legal action against the public servant,” it said. Accordingly, a trap was laid and SI (UB) Bhagyeswar Hazarika was caught red-handed in the presence of independent witnesses immediately after he accepted Rs 3,000 as a demanded bribe from the complainant, the official said.
“The tainted bribe money was recovered from his possession and was seized accordingly in the presence of independent witnesses,” he added. Following his arrest, a case was registered and the accused was charged on March 3, 2019, the official said in the statement.
