Rajasthan Police Officer Arrested for Alleged Rs 2 Crore Bribe
An officer from Rajasthan's Special Operations Group has been arrested after a middleman was caught accepting a bribe to close a corruption case.
Mukesh Kumar Soni, an Additional Superintendent of Police, was arrested for allegedly demanding a Rs 2 crore bribe.
The case involves a closure report related to a municipal scam in Udaipur and has drawn attention due to past controversies surrounding Soni.
Both Soni and the middleman have been remanded to custody as investigations continue under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In a significant development, the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Mukesh Kumar Soni, an Additional Superintendent of Police with the Special Operations Group (SOG), on Sunday. This arrest follows the apprehension of Sajjan Kumar, a middleman, who was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore on behalf of Soni. The operation took place in Balotra district, where Soni was detained at his residence after the ACB identified suspicious activities linked to him.
The investigation centers around a demand for a bribe in exchange for filing a closure report in a scam involving 272 plots in the Udaipur Municipal Corporation. The ACB has indicated that both Soni and the middleman will face charges under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, as well as Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court has ordered both individuals to be held in custody for three days as the inquiry unfolds.
This arrest has reignited scrutiny over Soni's past conduct, particularly regarding a case involving the alleged suicide of a 35-year-old lecturer, Manohar Lal Bhadu. Bhadu had claimed in a suicide note that Soni attempted to extort money from him and had pressured investigators to implicate him in various cases. Despite Bhadu's allegations and the subsequent call for an investigation, no significant action was taken against Soni until now.
Furthermore, Soni has faced accusations of undermining investigations against drug traffickers while serving as the Circle Officer for Ajmer South. In 2022, the Rajasthan High Court ordered an inquiry into Soni and two other officers due to concerns over their investigative practices. The recent arrest has raised questions about the integrity of police operations in the state and the ongoing issues of corruption within law enforcement.
Looking ahead, the ACB is expected to expand its investigation into Soni's activities and any potential connections to broader corruption within the SOG. The case may lead to further legal actions and scrutiny of police practices in Rajasthan, as public demand for accountability grows.
