Jabalpur, March 25 – The Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta police announced on Wednesday that they had arrested a female RTO constable and one of her private male associates for allegedly accepting bribes from a vehicle owner.
The arrest came after the constable and her associate were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 4,500 on the Jabalpur-Nagpur Highway, claiming that they were facilitating the vehicle's passage.
A complaint was filed with the Lokayukta by Prashant Dattatray Jadhav Jeevansagar, a vehicle owner from Mumbai, alleging the demand for money.
Acting on the complaint, the Lokayukta team set up a trap operation and apprehended the female constable, Shweta Ahirwar, and Mohit Sahu while they were accepting the bribe.
A senior official of the Lokayukta police stated that the investigation confirmed the allegations, verifying the veracity of the complaint.
Consequently, on March 25, Ahirwar and Sahu were caught red-handed accepting the bribe of Rs 4,500 from the vehicle driver.
The officer added that further legal proceedings are being initiated against both individuals.
The officer also stated that the amount was demanded to facilitate the passage of approximately 10 trucks from the jurisdiction of the Bargi police station in Jabalpur district.
The arrested individuals have been booked under Sections 7, 12, 13(1)B, and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. During the investigation, the Lokayukta police found that both individuals had been consistently extorting money from passing vehicles.
The Madhya Pradesh RTO department had come under scrutiny after 52 kilograms of gold and piles of cash amounting to Rs 10 crore were recovered from Saurabh Sharma, a former RTO constable, in Bhopal last year.
The multi-layered scam was investigated by multiple agencies, including the Lokayukta, the ED, and the Income Tax Department.
Saurabh and his two associates, Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal, were arrested.