Constable sent to police custody till January 31

PUNE: The court of special judge Vinay G.Joshi on Tuesday sent a police constable attached to the police control room to police custody till January 31 for accepting Rs 30,000 bribe from a hotel manager on Monday.
The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) arrested Vijay Kashinath Ambre (51), a resident of Tingrenagar in Vishrantwadi. A complaint has been lodged by Vitthal Dongre (27), manager of Hotel Ajinkya in Hadapsar.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACB) Rajendra Galande said that some eight days back Ambre called up Dongre and said that he had information that the hotel was being used for prostitution. "Ambre demanded Rs 60,000 from Dongre and also threatened to send patrolling vans to his hotel if he did not get the money," Galande said.
He said the hotel has a licence for lodging. However, to avoid trouble, Dongre decided to pay Rs 30,000 to Ambre. "Encouraged by this, Ambre then demanded Rs 30,000 from Dongre again. Dongre then decided to lodge a complaint with the ACB," Galande said.
After receiving a complaint on January 23, the ACB team recorded the cell phone conversations of the suspect. A trap was laid near the general post office and Ambre was arrested red-handed while accepting Rs 30,000 from Dongre.
ACB told the court Ambre's custodial interrogation is essential as he had no authority to check hotel licences and extort money from its owners. ACB suspected the involvement of more policemen in the case.