Anand, Oct 29 — A man was caught allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs two lakh during an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) trap in Anand district on Thursday, while a search of his car led to the recovery of Rs 49 lakh in cash, which the agency described as "suspicious".
The accused, identified as Dilipbhai alias Dipubhai Patel, was allegedly accepting the money on behalf of a demand made in connection with an investigation being conducted by the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Anand.
A second accused, V N Rathod, a Police Sub-Inspector with the SOG, was not present at the spot when the trap was executed.
According to the ACB, the two accused had allegedly demanded Rs two lakh from the complainant to unfreeze a bank account that had been frozen during an investigation into a case registered at Anand Town police station.
The money was also allegedly demanded to ensure that the complainant was not arrested in connection with the case.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant, described by the ACB as a "vigilant citizen", approached the agency and lodged a complaint.
The ACB subsequently arranged a trap on October 29. Patel was allegedly caught accepting the entire demanded amount of Rs two lakh during the operation. The ACB said the full amount was recovered.
The trap was laid outside the SOG office in Anand, near its entrance. "The bribe transaction took place inside a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz car in Patel's possession," officials said.
During a search of the vehicle in the presence of panch witnesses, the ACB team found Rs 49 lakh in cash.
The agency classified the amount as "suspicious", and further investigation into its source and circumstances was underway.
"The operation was conducted by a team led by D N Patel, Police Inspector with the ACB's Field-1 unit in Ahmedabad, along with other ACB personnel," officials added.
The agency's preliminary account identifies Rathod and Patel as the two accused in the alleged bribe demand.
While Patel was apprehended during the trap, Rathod was not found at the location.
Further investigation is underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged bribe demand and the cash recovered from the vehicle.