Mehsana, Sep 1: A constable posted at Satlasana Police Station in Gujarat’s Mehsana district and a local resident were allegedly caught accepting a Rs 83,000 bribe during an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) trap, after a person approached the bureau’s toll-free helpline 1064, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Kanji Chaudhary, a police constable posted at Satlasana Police Station, and Ashish Chaudhary, a resident of Chaudhary Vas in Navavas-Rajpur of Satlasana.

The ACB said the entire alleged bribe amount of Rs 83,000 was recovered during the operation.

According to the ACB complaint, a gambling case had been registered at Satlasana Police Station against the complainant and several other persons.

In connection with the case, the complainant and the others were required to appear at the police station.

The ACB alleged that accused police constable Kanji Chaudhary demanded Rs one lakh from the complainant in exchange for not assaulting the complainant and the others when they appeared at the police station.

Following negotiations, the alleged bribe amount was settled at Rs 83,000, with the payment agreed to be made on Monday.

Unwilling to pay the bribe money, the complainant contacted the Anti-Corruption Bureau through its 1064 toll-free number and lodged a complaint.

Based on the complaint, the bureau set up a trap on Monday (August 31). During the operation, the two accused allegedly remained in telephone contact with the complainant and accepted Rs 83,000 from him.

The transaction took place in the car of a friend of the accused on a public road opposite Suraj Complex in Satlasana.

The ACB team subsequently caught the accused at the spot and recovered the entire alleged bribe amount of Rs 83,000.

The ACB officials said that further legal proceedings were being initiated in connection with the alleged offence.

“The trap was conducted by D.B. Mehta, Police Inspector, ACB Field-3 (Intervening), Ahmedabad, along with his team,” officials said.

The investigation will continue to probe if there were similar instances involving the said cop in the past.

Kolkata, Sep 1: Trinamool Congress general secretary and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Tuesday arrived at the Shakespeare Sarani Police station in central Kolkata to face interrogation in connection with the FIRs filed over the removal of an illegal billboard from the roof of his party office on Camac Street.

Banerjee arrived at the police station a little after noon. By then, a large number of Trinamool Congress supporters had already assembled in front of the said police station.

They shouted slogans when he arrived and went inside the police station. “As long as our general secretary is inside the police station, all of us will remain assembled there,” one Trinamool Congress activist told media persons.

The party’s Rajya Sabha member, Derek O’Brien, was supposed to appear at the Shakespeare Sarani Police Station on Monday and face the interrogation in the same matter. But he skipped the appearance, and instead his counsel sent a letter to Kolkata Police seeking seven more days for appearance.

However, Kolkata Police refused to give him seven days and served O’Brien a second notice to appear at the said police station by noon on Wednesday.

Abhishek Banerjee’s personal assistant, Sumit Roy, is also supposed to appear at the same police station by noon on Wednesday.

Tension broke out on Camac Street on August 27 after Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) staff, accompanied by police personnel, reached Abhishek Banerjee’s Camac Street office to remove the illegal billboard.

The KMC staff and police personnel faced stiff resistance from party activists led by Abhishek Banerjee, O’Brien and other Trinamool Congress leaders. Scuffles broke out between the cops and the party activists.

In the three FIRs filed at Shakespeare Sarani Police Station, the city police have accused the Trinamool Congress activists of not only assaulting the on-duty cops but also attempting to outrage the modesty of a female police officer.

In two of the three FIRs filed, Banerjee, O’Brien and other Trinamool Congress leaders, such as Humayun Kabir and Baishwanar Chatterjee, have been named. The police have arrested 14 people in this connection so far.

Kaushambi, Sep 1: A case has been registered against six people following a firecracker factory blast that claimed 11 lives in the Pipri police station area of Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi, invoking serious charges including Explosives Act violations, officials said on Tuesday.

Two accused, Shabnam and Saina, were arrested and taken into custody for questioning. The FIR has been registered under sections 105/288 BNS and 4/5/9B of the Explosives Act against the accused.

At least 11 people were killed, and five others were injured after a massive fire triggered a series of explosions at a firecracker factory in Manouri Bazaar under Pipri police station limits of Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district.

Action was also taken against the Pipri SHO and beat constables Jitendra Kumar and Krishna Kumar for their “gross negligence in discharging their official duties and for not registering information related to the operation of the firecracker factory” and “not registering information related to the operation” of the facility.

“It is noteworthy that in view of the seriousness of the incident, the Superintendent of Police prima facie found gross negligence and indifference in discharging their official duties and hence, the Station House Officer Pipri Vikas Singh, Outpost House Officer Chail Sub Inspector Amit Dwivedi and former Outpost House Officer Chail Sub Inspector Manish Pal were placed on line duty with immediate effect,” Kaushambi Police said in a statement.

Officials said that the investigation is ongoing and legal proceedings are underway.

Meanwhile, earlier, the District Magistrate assured strict action against those found responsible for the tragedy. He said criminal cases would be registered under serious sections of the law, and stringent measures, including property attachment, would be initiated in accordance with government directives.

Five injured persons are undergoing treatment at Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj.

Following the explosions, administrative and police teams cordoned off the area and intensified rescue efforts. Officials fear that more people may still be trapped beneath the debris of the factory and nearby structures that collapsed in the blast. Search and clearance operations are continuing.