Cop suspended for taking bribe from liquor vendor

Bhubaneswar: Odisha DGP Y B Khurania on Monday suspended a police inspector, a day after he was arrested by the anti-corruption Vigilance wing for allegedly accepting a bribe from a liquor vendor, an official said.

According to an order by the State police headquarters, Bijay Kumar Barik, Inspector In-Charge (IIC) of the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) police station in Cuttack, was placed under suspension as disciplinary proceedings were contemplated against him. Barik has been booked under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“During the period the order remains in force, he (Barik) will remain under the disciplinary control of the Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, Bhubaneswar. He will draw salary as admissible under Orissa Service Code,” the order said. Barik was arrested by Vigilance officials on Sunday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a licensed liquor vendor in exchange for allowing the business to operate smoothly. The bribe amount was recovered from his possession and seized, Vigilance officials said.

The vendor had lodged a complaint with the Vigilance department, alleging that Barik was repeatedly insisting on the payment of undue financial favours on different occasions.

Finding it too difficult to meet these continuous demands for money, the vendor approached the Vigilance authorities.

Acting on the complaint, the Vigilance officials laid a trap on Sunday and caught Barik red-handed while receiving the bribe of Rs 40,000 from the vendor at Rajmahal Chowk in Bhubaneswar. The entire bribe money has been recovered from Barik’s possession in presence of witnesses.

Following the trap, simultaneous searches have been conducted on the residential government quarters of Barik at Unit-1 in Bhubaneswar and his office chamber in Cuttack. The anti-corruption sleuths found Barik in possession of a triple-storeyed building at Sisupalgarh in Bhubaneswar, newly constructed double-storeyed building at Derabis in Kendrapara district and Rs 4,96,120 in cash during the searches at the residential government quarters and chamber of Barik.