Vadodara: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Thursday caught an inspector posted at Anklav police station in Anand district red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a factory operator in exchange for not harassing him over pollution complaints.The accused, Rajdeepsinh Bhagvatsinh Vanar, a Class II police inspector, had allegedly threatened to shut down a chemical factory in Khadol village of Anklav taluka after receiving complaints about pollution from the unit.According to the ACB, Vanar first demanded a 1.5-tonne air conditioner from the factory operator. When the complainant refused, the inspector asked for Rs 40,000 in cash instead.The complaints against the factory date to June, when an oil tank at the unit developed a leak, triggering protests by local residents. Villagers said noxious fumes and polluted water from the factory were damaging crops and demanded the closure of the unit. Members of the Karni Sena had also intervened in the matter.The inspector allegedly demanded money in exchange for not harassing the factory operator over the repeated complaints. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the operator approached the Anand ACB police station.Acting on the complaint, an ACB team laid a trap at Anklav police station on Thursday evening. The complainant entered the inspector’s chamber and handed over Rs 40,000 to Vanar. The ACB team caught him red-handed and recovered the entire amount.The operation was led by R N Virani, police inspector at the Anand ACB police station.This is the second instance this year of police personnel being caught in an ACB trap in Anand district. In June, two women police personnel — assistant sub-inspector Gita Dotha and head constable Pushpa Garasia —were caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.10 lakh near the railway station.The two personnel had demanded the money in exchange for not harassing a woman during an inquiry into an application and for refraining from taking her passport into custody.
