Cattle trafficking: Bribery charge against govt council vice-chairman

Gonda Superintendent of Police alleged that newly appointed vice-chairman of Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research K C Pandey, who is also national secretary of Samajwadi Party, tried to bribe him for sheltering illegal trafficking of cattle in the district

The newly appointed vice-chairman of Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research — with the status of a Minister of State — K C Pandey, who is also national secretary of Samajwadi Party, has run into a controversy after he allegedly tried to bribe Gonda Superintendent of Police (SP) Navneet Kumar Rana over phone for sheltering illegal trafficking of cattle in the district.

According to an FIR lodged into the matter at City Kotwali of Gonda,

K C Pandey talked to Rana twice over phone. Once, he asked the SP to meet a group of persons sent by him and "solve their problem". After that a group of persons came to the SP's office with Pandey's reference and tried to convince him for helping in the trafficking of cattle in Gonda district.

Later, police seized a truck carrying 50 oxen in Khargapur police station and arrested three persons on the night of December 29, under its operation against illegal trafficking of cattle.

The next day Ashutosh Pandey, a resident of Kandhla, Shamli district, along with his three associates — Ibrahim Khan, Firoz Khan and Saghir Ahmed — came to bribe the SP for leaving the seized truck. However, the SP had already installed cameras to conduct a sting operation on the group. "When taken into custody by the police for bribing, Ashutosh made the SP talk to K C Pandey whose conversation also got recorded on camera while convincing the SP to help the accused persons," said a police officer on condition of anonymity.

The conversation with Pandey is now part of a graft case lodged at City Kotwali police station. When contacted, Rana said he had received a call from a person who identified himself as K C Pandey, and police were investigating the matter to ascertain the caller's identity. He said the police were trying to talk to Pandey to ascertain if he made the call and a police team had also visited his house in Gorakhpur for this purpose.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Cong to cash in on SP govt’s ‘neglect’ of minorities

At AMU, students more bothered about ban on motorbikes than wearing sherwanis

Mulayam pep talk for backward caste leaders

Acquitted in riot case, Varun free of all charges in Pilibhit