A special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Rajkot has sentenced a traffic police head constable and his civilian accomplice for operating an organized bribery racket. The court also directed the state government to take disciplinary action against investigators for allegedly covering up a wider conspiracy.
The Verdict
Head constable Bipin Makwana (45) was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 3 lakh under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. His accomplice, Dipak Parmar, received a seven-year rigorous imprisonment term and a fine of Rs 2 lakh under Section 12 for abetting the crime on behalf of a public servant, according to district government pleader S K Vora.
The Modus Operandi
The accused ran an extortion scheme on the Gondal Road–Kuwadva Road stretch. They collected a monthly entry fee of Rs 50 from commercial vehicle drivers. Instead of issuing legal penalty receipts for missing documents, they took bribes and issued specially printed protection cards. These cards, bearing an image of a cow and the text 3 X (denoting March validity), functioned as illegal free passes. When displayed, they indicated to other traffic personnel not to stop or question the driver for the rest of the month.
The Sting Operation
The racket came to light after Sagar, a food company owner, complained to the ACB that his drivers were repeatedly forced to pay bribes. Acting on the complaint, ACB inspector D D Chavda set up a trap with a decoy driver on March 5, 2018. The decoy driver was intercepted by Parmar. When the driver said he did not have a pollution under control (PUC) certificate, Parmar demanded Rs 50 and offered a monthly card, assuring hassle-free movement. The driver handed over a powder-dusted note, after which the ACB team arrested Parmar and Makwana, who was in a police jeep nearby.
Shocking Recoveries
The ACB recovered more than 500 protection cards under the rear seat of the police jeep assigned to Makwana, and another 16 from Parmar. Investigators found that the cards were printed in bulk, with orders placed by traffic staff through WhatsApp and payments made directly.
Court Slams Investigators for Cover-Up
The court observed that the case pointed to a corruption network involving at least 20 personnel and widespread circulation of the protection cards. It criticised investigating officers for covering up the broader conspiracy. The court directed that the judgment and testimonies be sent to the home secretary in Gandhinagar, asking the government to initiate disciplinary action against officials for failing to expose the full network.
