Relatives of officer arrested in bribery case caught trying to break into his sealed house in Jalgaon

Nashik: In an early-morning operation, the Jalgaon police arrested two relatives of a Class I officer recently held in a bribery case after they were caught allegedly attempting to break into his sealed residence to tamper with evidence, officials said on Sunday.The accused, identified as Prasad Narkhede (35) and Pravin Mahajan (36), were caught “red-handed” inside the sealed Ganesh Colony house at 5.40am after neighbours alerted the police to suspicious activity.The house belongs to a joint district registrar and collector of stamps posted in Akola, who was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Friday for allegedly accepting a Rs 10,000 bribe to reduce stamp duty on a land deal.ACB officials had sealed the Jalgaon residence as part of the ongoing probe after being informed that no one was staying there. However, “the duo entered the sealed house in a deliberate bid to remove or destroy evidence, ensuring that ACB sleuths would not find any unaccounted valuables or incriminating documents during their official house search,” an ACB official said.According to investigators, the suspects used a ladder to gain entry from the rear of the premises before being intercepted.

Police teams rushed to the spot following calls from residents who reported unusual noises from inside the locked house.A case has been registered at the Zillapeth police station under sections 305(A) (theft in a residential house), 331(2) (house-breaking by night) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Jalgaon SP Shrikant Dhivare said the probe will widen to examine whether the arrested officer played a role in orchestrating the break-in. “The investigation will now also focus on determining whether the arrested officer himself had orchestrated the break-in from custody to prevent the ACB from recovering assets during the search,” he said.