HYDERABAD: Ghouse Khan, a sub inspector attached to Asif Nagar police station, allegedly allowed illegal trade of banned tobacco products in the city by collecting bribes from traders. He was caught red-handed by the Anti Corruption Bureau on Tuesday while accepting a bribe of `25,000. Cops say they had been keeping a close watch over his movements for sometime now.
Ghouse Khan used to raid pan shops and godowns where banned tobacco were being stored under the Asifnagar police limits. He then collected details of the illegal manufacturers and started demanding bribes from them. “He was collecting protection money from them every month. Recently, he asked one such trader Manzoor-Ul-Hasan to hike the amount from `5,000 to `20,000,” ACB officials said. A few days ago, Khan summoned Hasan to the station and gave him a list of gadgets and utensils. He demanded Hasan to gift those items; if not he threatened to crackdown on his illegal trade.When Hasan took the list and went to purchase the items he realised it would cost him lakhs of rupees. Angered, Hasan lodged a complaint with the ACB.