NASHIK: Jalgaon superintendent of police Pravin Mundhe has orders a probe after Chalisgaon BJP MLA Mangesh Chavan, posing as a truck driver on November 24, exposed policemen taking bribes from truck drivers to use the Kannad Ghat, which has been banned for heavy vehicles.
The heavy downpour in Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts in August caused landslides at eight locations in the Kannad ghat area. The landslides disrupted traffic movement on the Dhule-Aurangabad-Solapur highway, which is a key route taken by goods vehicles from Rajasthan and Gujarat to reach Marathwada and Vidarbha regions as well as several other southern states. Only recently, movement of light vehicles was allowed on the stretch.
After getting several complaints about alleged corruption by policemen, the MLA drove a truck posing as a truck driver. The policemen at the ghat took Rs 500 from him and one of the MLA’s associates made a video of the transaction on the cell phone and put it on the social media.
Chavan told TOI, “There are boards up at the start of Kannad Ghat that owing to work of road repair, the road has been closed for heavy vehicles. However, truck drivers were being allowed to use the road by taking money.”
He alleged that the policemen took Rs 100, Rs 500 and even Rs 1,000 from truck drivers. “I decided to do a sting operation. On the night of November 24, I drove a truck in the Kannad Ghat. When I was entering the ghat, I was asked for Rs 500 by policemen if I wanted to go ahead. I have the video of the same.”
He added that he and his supporters had also taken the bytes of nearly 15 to 20 truck drivers, who all told them that they were allowed to use the road if they paid some money.
Chavan said that he would be meeting senior officials of the police and the Anti Corruption Bureau to register complaints against the concerned policemen and would also demand that the policemen are suspended with immediate effect.
DIG of Nashik Range, B G Shekhar Patil has instructed the Jalgaon SP to take strict action against all those involved. Shekhar Patil told TOI that he has informed Mundhe to probe the matter and suspend the policemen concerned involved in accepting money from truck drivers.
