Manish Sisodia lashes out at Delhi Police as ACB nabs cop for taking bribe

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday accused Delhi Police of shielding one of its officials whom the Anti-Corruption Branch of the government was said to have nabbed for seeking a bribe as the matter triggered a fresh face-off between the law enforcers and the ruling AAP.

According to a senior government official, a head constable, one Anil, was late last night caught red-handed by ACB while accepting a bribe. The head constable was posted at Sonia Vihar police station, a senior official said today, adding that an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) and a constable managed to escape from the spot.

However, Delhi Police announced that they had on Friday lodged an FIR in connection with the kidnapping of the said constable on the basis of a complaint registered by his wife. They said that they were informed about the arrest only this afternoon by the ACB.

That triggered off a controversy with Sisodia alleging that Delhi Police was covering up a corruption case involving its officials by registering an FIR of kidnapping.

"When the head constable was arrested by the ACB, police officials knew about the case. But despite that, an FIR of kidnapping of the arrested official was registered, which is very unfortunate. With this case, we got to see the new face of police," Sisodia told reporters today.

The deputy chief minister's statement came even as Delhi Police and the AAP government are at loggerheads over the case of a farmer's alleged suicide at a rally in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"We were not aware that he (head constable) has been arrested by ACB. The aggrieved wife gave us a complaint and since it was a cognisable offence, an FIR was registered.

"ACB informed us only this afternoon and a DD entry has been made in this regard," said a senior police official who added that the fate of the FIR would be decided as per the provisions of the law.

Asked if Delhi Police was not cooperating in the fight against corruption, Sisodia said, "With the arrest of the head constable, we got to know how rampant corruption is in Delhi Police. But it is unfortunate that instead of encouraging ACB, Delhi Police are trying to cover up the corruption of their officials."

According to a senior government official, a complainant made a video recording of the head constable demanding a bribe. He then registered a complaint against the head constable, the ASI and the constable at Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Helpline and, thereafter, action was taken against the police officials in question.

A manhunt has been launched to nab the absconding ASI and constable, official said.