Delhi Police official jailed in graft case

A CBI court here on Tuesday convicted a Delhi Police official along with a property dealer in a 2011 graft case and sent them to Tihar Jail.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Brijesh Kumar Garg convicted Delhi Police official P.S. Bhardwaj, then posted at Timarpur police station, and property dealer Sanjay Kumar for accepting Rs 80,000 as bribe from Munna Lal Gupta in May 2011.

The court held them guilty of offences dealing with criminal conspiracy and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. The court also ordered they be sent to judicial custody till the next date of hearing when the court will hear argument on quantum of sentence on December 3.

According to the CBI, Gupta lodged a complaint against Bhardwaj on May 4, 2011 for demanding Rs 1 lakh for getting his house vacated from his daughter-in-law. 

Gupta alleged that Bhardwaj and other staff of Timarpur police station on April 30, 2011, had earlier forcibly got him to vacate his house and handed over its possession to his daughter-in-law.

A trap was laid on May 4, 2011, wherein co-accused Sanjay Kumar, the property dealer, in Jagatpur Extension, Delhi, was apprehended by the CBI team, while accepting bribe of Rs 80,000 from Gupta, on behalf of Bhardwaj.

Public Prosecutor Praneet Sharma citing the statement of witnesses told the CBI court that their depositions have proved the prosecution case beyond a shadow of doubt.

Claiming his innocence in the case, Bhardwaj said he was the investigating officer of a kidnapping case against Gupta and in that case, another court rejected Gupta’s anticipatory bail thrice after he opposed it. A non-bailable warrant was also pending against Gupta. Being apprehensive of his arrest, the complainant wanted to derail the investigations and falsely implicated him and Kumar in the case.