Jaipur (Udaipur Kiran). The deep roots of corruption within the Rajasthan Police department have once again come to light, with the latest incident reported from Udaipur. Even as the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Sharma and senior Additional Director General (ADG) officers were on an official visit to Udaipur, issuing strict directives in crime review meetings, a bribe of ₹3.50 lakh was being openly accepted on behalf of the Additional SP posted in the city. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jaipur team on Tuesday arrested middleman Shantilal Soni, son of Gopallal Soni, red-handed while accepting ₹3.50 lakh as a bribe for Additional SP Hitesh Mehta of the Special Investigation Unit, Crime Against Women Cell.

Complaint Received by ACB

According to ACB ADG Smita Srivastava, a complainant had filed a report at the Jaipur office, stating that middleman Shantilal Soni was demanding a bribe of ₹3.50 lakh on behalf of Additional SP Hitesh Mehta. The amount was allegedly sought for facilitating the recovery of pending payment from the sale of a BMW car, as well as for ensuring a charge sheet was filed against the accused in an ongoing case.

Verification of Complaint and Trap Operation

The complaint was verified, which confirmed that the middleman was indeed demanding a bribe for Additional SP Hitesh Mehta. Following this, a team led by ACB Additional SP Gyan Prakash Naval reached Udaipur from Jaipur. With the support of the local ACB unit, a trap was laid and Shantilal Soni was caught red-handed accepting the ₹3.50 lakh bribe.

Role of Additional SP Under Suspicion

ACB Additional SP Gyan Prakash Naval stated that the role of Additional SP Hitesh Mehta, posted in Udaipur, is under suspicion in this entire matter and a detailed investigation is underway. Further action will be taken after questioning the arrested middleman.