HIV, Sessions Court Anti-Corruption Bureau . HIV The tempo driver was fined thrice by the cop; after his transfer to another traffic division, he took action against the driver for the fourth time. So, the driver filed a false case against him out of anger — Advocate Nasreen Ayubi, who represented the deceased cop Thirteen long years after a police constable from the city was accused of corruption over a Rs 500 bribe — in the midst of which period he succumbed to, leaving his wife to carry ahead the torch in his case — the Bombay High Court (HC) last Saturday acquitted him of all charges. It was on August 11, 2003, that the then 40-year-old cop had been accused of accepting the bribe, for which he was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment (RI) by thein 2006.He had appealed this decision in the HC that same year, but died in 2011 after being diagnosed with HIV four years previously. However, his wife, 36 years old at the time of the alleged bribery incident, kept faith in her spouse’s honesty. She also tested positive for HIV later, and at the same time, began following the case in the HC to prove her husband not corrupt, while juggling financial challenges and raising their two children alone. Fortunately, this wait has borne fruit.It all began when the constable attached with Hadapsar traffic branch was arrested by the(ACB), while accepting Rs 500 from tempo driver Malaba Chinchole. According to the driver’s police complaint filed on August 12, 2003, he was carrying some goods to be delivered from a godown at Phursungi to Thermax Chowk, but when he reached Hadapsar chowk, the constable stopped him and demanded to see his licence and other papers. It was observed that the passing limit of the tempo had expired five days ago, so the constable allegedly demanded Rs 3,200 as a fine and retained the vehicle papers, including its passing certificate, insurance and fitness certificates. The cop also asked the driver to leave the tempo at the spot.Soon, the constable reduced the fine to Rs 2,000 to release the vehicle, but since the driver expressed an inability to do so, the cop agreed to accept Rs 500 and intimated him that on receipt of the said amount, the vehicle would be returned. Chinchole agreed to pay up at 5 pm that day,and meanwhile, approached ACB. Accordingly, a trap was laid and the constable arrested.Three years down the line, the Sessions Court convicted the cop to oneyear RI and a fine of Rs 500, prompting him to file an appeal in the HC challenging this sentence. A year later, he was diagnosed with, to which he succumbed in March 2011.His now 52-year-old widow, who resides at Balajinagar with their children, lamented that her husband died due to the stress of a false case. She told Mirror, “Although it is true that he was HIV-positive, my husband also suffered a lot because of the spurious allegations against him. He did not even inform me about the trap —I came to know from other people. I trusted my husband and always will. So, even after his death, I followed the case in the HC. No one from the police department helped me or my family after my husband’s death. I was completely traumatised, facing the huge challenge of educating my children alone. I decided to fight it out and also followed up on the case to acquit my spouse. I travelled to Mumbai whenever required. It has been very difficult for me to look after the kids and do this, but I have been doing some typing work from home, which helps.”As the trial progressed, several factors came to light, proving that the constable had not, in fact, demanded a bribe from the tempo driver. Instead, the latter had been fined as many as four times by the same constable for breach of traffic rules. In the stand, Chinchole also admitted that the amount of Rs 3,200 was demanded as a fine, not a bribe. After verifying the vehicle papers, the accused cop had taken note of the details in his diary — this record of his actions against the driver were also found in the police case diary. Prosecution witnesses further disclosed that the money was recovered towards a fine for the violation of traffic rules. Seeing all this, the HC bench of Justice Sadhana Jadhav acquitted the constable of the corruption charges.Advocate Nasreen Ayubi, who was representing the deceased cop in the HC, told Mirror, “In this case, the complainant had been initially fined thrice by the constable. When the cop was transferred to another traffic division, he once more took action against the same driver and fined him for the fourth time. This is why the tempo driver filed a false case against him with ACB, out of anger. To prove that the case falls under the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988, the prosecution should have demonstrated two things — the demand and acceptance of a bribe by the accused. In this case, the constable did not demand any bribe, and the amount was also accepted as a fine. There is documentary evidence of the same, in the form of the cop’s register entry. There was no demand mentioned in the FIR. So, the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and the court has therefore acquitted the constable. His widow finally got justice.”Today, the wife — whose son (the elder child) is in his second-year of BCom and daughter has completed an engineering diploma — is thankful that the family has become eligible to avail of retirement benefits of the deceased cop, a great help to their futures. Said the widow, “It has been 13 long years since our lives changed irrevocably, but I am happy that justice has now finally been served. My husband was falsely implicated in a trap, but the HC had now acquitted him of all charges.”

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