In a significant anti-corruption crackdown, Goa’s Directorate of Vigilance on Tuesday arrested Police Inspector Sunil Gudlar and Constable Mohammad Hussen Haryar from the Konkan Railway police station. The arrests were made after the duo was allegedly caught accepting a Rs25,000 bribe from a licensed meat trader based in Belagavi.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant responded strongly to the arrests, stating, “He (Gudlar) will be permanently out of the service.”
According to SP Nelson Albuquerque of the ACB, the meat trader had approached the unit with a complaint and voice recordings as evidence of the bribe demand. Investigations revealed that the complainant was being pressured to pay an initial Rs2 lakh and a monthly bribe of RS25,000 to avoid legal action regarding an abandoned consignment of 347kg red meat seized in March.
The ACB said the bribe negotiations were led by Constable Hussen, and the money was received in PI Gudlar’s office, where the duo was caught red-handed in a sting operation. Audio recordings captured both officers discussing the payment.
Despite the complainant clarifying that the seized meat was not his, Konkan Railway police allegedly threatened arrest and demanded payment to “settle” the matter, citing that similar “rates” were fixed for other traders.
The case has since been transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for further proceedings. Albuquerque confirmed that suspension orders are being pursued for both officers.
This is not the first time PI Sunil Gudlar has faced serious allegations. In 2011, the CBI arrested him in a notorious police-politician-drug mafia nexus case, where he was caught on camera allegedly selling drugs to foreign nationals. Though acquitted later, the case involved Israeli drug dealer David Driham alias Dudu and his sister Ayala Driham, who accused Gudlar of accepting bribes and valuables.
