Makhan Islam, the Ranger of Jonai Range Division has been arrested on the Dhemaji Silapathar road after being caught red-handed by the Assam ACB Team led by the Superintendent of Police, Sumeet Sharma, on charges of demanding and accepting bribe of an amount of Rs. 2,00,000 from complainant Sandeep Das of Jonai, Dhemaji.
The complainant Sandip Das, of Jonai, is a proprietor of one wood Furniture Industry in Jonai town and sells furniture items at his Show Room in Jonai town. He sometimes brings timbers from Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh for making furniture items. The Dhemaji Forest Division officials had detained his truck bearing Regd. No. AS-07-C-2996 sometimes back along with the timbers and pulled the vehicle to the Dhemaji DFO office but till date, neither copy of seizure list has been issued. Again, recently on 22/02/2020, while he was transporting timbers purchased from Pashighat to Silapathar in a rental truck, with valid documents, one Makhan Islam, a Ranger of forest department at Jonai, detained the truck and brought the same to Jonai Range Office and released the truck without observing any formalities, but did not release the timbers belonging to the complainant.
When the complainant, Sandip Das approached Makhan Islam, the forest Ranger, to get back his truck Regd. No. AS-07-C-2996, which was detained on previous occasion along with the legal timbers seized recently and the documents, the said Makhan Islam demanded bribe of Rs. 2,00,000/-, and also threatened the complainant to confiscate his truck and warned him of arrest, if he failed to do so. In this regard, on 21/03/2020 at about 10 AM, the complainant also met Safiqur Rahman DFO Dhemaji District and informed him the whole matter, but the said DFO did not address the issue and sent him back and asked him to contact Ranger Makhan Islam to settle the matter.
As per direction of the Safiqur Rahman, DFO, Dhemaji, the complainant approached Ranger Makhan Islam again to settle the matter but the said Ranger once again demanded money amounting Rs. 2 lakhs for him and for DFO, Dhemaji. At last, due to national lockdown in the state from 24th March, 2020, and under threat of arrest, the complainant Sanjib Das was compelled to pay an amount of Rs. 1,65,000/- (Rs. one lakh sixty-five thousand) to Makhan Islam, Ranger. Apart of the above amount was paid through one Pradip Das, a Forester of Jonai. With the passage of time, some well-wishers advised the complainant to approach the Anti-Corruption Office, to lodge a written complaint.
On 05/06/2020, Ranger again asked the complainant to deliver additional bribe money amounting to Rs.1,00,000/- (Rs. one lakh) for Safiqur Rahman DFO, Dhemaji. As the complainant Sandip Das was not willing to pay any more bribe amount and lockdown had been lifted, he came to Guwahati to the Directorate of Vigilance & Anti- Corruption, and lodged a written complaint and after verification of complaint, a case vide ACB PS case no. 06/2020 u/s 7/7(a)/13 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was registered on 17-06-2020. A team of ACB investigators, led by SP Sumeet Sharma, immediately left for Dhemaji.
Today, after further negotiation, the remaining bribe amount of Rs. 55,000/- was to be handed over as demanded and the ACB team laid a trap. While the complainant contacted the accused in the morning the accused called him to come to Lakhimpur to deliver the amount but later changed the location to Swagata Dhaba, Dhemaji @ 1130 AM. Thereafter, once again on contacting the accused , the accused changed the venue and asked him to come to Silapathar and meet him on the highway @ 2 PM to deliver the amount. Accordingly the trap team followed the complainant at the location called for.
At about 2.30 PM, at Kanibeel (under Silapather P.S.) on the NH-15 to Silapathar, the accused was spotted waiting and the complainant, reached the spot. The complainant handed over the bribe money as sought for by the accused and immediately thereafter, he was caught red handed by the ACB Team which was following the complainant vehicle at a distance and recovered the bribe money from below the seat of Maruti Vitara Brezza car of the accused ranger, on being shown by him.
The ranger Makhan Islam has been arrested in connection with the case and the role of the DFO Dhemaji, Safiqur Rehman, is being investigated in the crime and he is being summoned for examination. The truck of complainant has been found standing in the compound of office of DFO Dhemaji and seized. The Forester Pradip Das of range forest office, Dhemaji is also being summoned for questioning. The office and residential premises of DFO and the Ranger are being searched in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Guwahati and Jonai, by ACB teams with assistance of local police. All formalities of search are being observed. The assistance of Dhemaji and North Lakhimpur police, is appreciated in the operation.
The arrested person shall be produced before the magistrate tomorrow in Dhemaji, for taking transit remand to bring him to Guwahati, for production before Special Court, Guwahati.
