Notes rain outside Delhi police station after ASI's dramatic bid to evade vigilance

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An Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of Delhi Police on Tuesday was arrested by the Vigilance unit after he threw Rs 15,000 in bribe money into the air outside Hauz Qazi police station in a failed attempt to evade a trap.

The incident created dramatic scenes outside the Hauz Qazi police station in Old Delhi, where money was literally seen flying in the air.

The accused officer, identified as ASI Rakesh Kumar, was posted as a Division Officer at the Hauz Qazi police station. According to officials, he had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a resident of Bazar Sita Ram in order not to implicate him in a false case. The complainant approached the Vigilance Branch and submitted a written complaint. Following this, the Vigilance team prepared a plan to catch Kumar in the act.

On Tuesday around 12.30 pm, the complainant went to the police station carrying the bribe money, 30 notes of Rs 500 each. After a while, both the complainant and Kumar stepped outside the police station. Once the exchange took place, the complainant gave a pre-decided signal to the Vigilance team waiting nearby, confirming that the officer had accepted the money.

The Vigilance team quickly moved in to arrest Kumar, but in an attempt to escape, he threw the bundle of cash into the air. The notes scattered across the busy road. Several people rushed to grab the flying notes before officers could step in. Eventually, the Vigilance team managed to recover Rs 10,000, but the remaining Rs 5,000 disappeared into the crowd.

Kumar was taken into custody and booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In its statement, Delhi Police confirmed the incident and said that while a part of the bribe amount was retrieved, the rest could not be recovered as bystanders had picked it up during the chaos.