A special court in Ajmer on Tuesday acquitted all 14 policemen, including an IPS officer, in a 2013 case involving monthly extortion.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had arrested the then Ajmer Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena in January 2013, along with alleged middleman Ramdev Thathera, for allegedly extorting money from the Station House Officer (SHO) under his jurisdiction.
In addition to Meena and Thathera, the ACB had also arrested the then Additional SP, Lokesh Sonwal, and inspectors Khan Mohammad, Sanjay Sharma, Hanuman Singh, Kishal Ram, Pramod Swami, Gopal Lal, Banshi Lal, Jaipal, Ravindra Yadav, and Ashok Vishnoi—all SHOs of various police stations—along with Hemant Jain, a civilian.
“The ACB made a fake case. The charge sheet was presented against the police officers, but legal evidence could not be produced. Therefore, the court has acquitted all 14 accused today,” said Umardan Singh, the counsel for four of the accused.
The special TADA court in Ajmer, which handles ACB cases, pronounced the judgment. Singh stated that the ACB raided the residence of then SP Rajesh Meena based on source information. However, the prosecution could not provide this source information in writing.
Transcripts of phone calls were not presented as legal evidence, and no evidence was produced that could establish any financial transaction. The ACB had alleged that Meena used to collect monthly ‘bandhi’ or extortion money from SHOs through civilian Ramdev.
The ACB also claimed to have recovered more than Rs 2 lakh from Ramdev, who was at Meena’s residence in Ajmer during the raid. In his defense, Ramdev stated that he was carrying the cash for a temple’s construction.
Rajesh Meena is currently posted as IG-Security at the Police Headquarters in Jaipur
