Recent CBI raids on Delhi police have exposed a troubling trend of officers accepting bribes in instalments, starting with lump sum down payments. FIRs filed by the CBI reveal that officers were caught demanding initial payments and negotiating the remainder to be paid later.
In a raid at Patparganj police station, two head constables were arrested while accepting a Rs 10,000 bribe. They had initially demanded Rs 50,000 from a woman trader, agreeing to take Rs 11,000 upfront and the rest in instalments. Another raid on June 21 caught a sub-inspector accepting the first Rs 1 lakh of a Rs 2 lakh bribe. This bribe was negotiated down from an initial Rs 3 lakh to avoid the complainant’s arrest.
Frisking for recording devices has also been reported, with one case involving the abduction of a complainant who was suspected of being wired. The accused officers in this case remain at large, with a call for their swift arrest. Over the past two years, corruption in Delhi Police has escalated, leading to over two dozen arrests in various police stations across the city.