Bribe bid turns jail head into inmate

It happened with Superintendent of Bettiah Jail Ramesh Chandra Jaiswal, who, after indulging in corrupt practices, found himself lodged in the same jail of which he was in charge.

Jaiswal tried to bribe Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) of Bettiah (Sadar) Sharad Kumar, requesting him to refrain from raiding the jail premises.

According to sources, the jail superintendent sought an appointment with the DySP for a “confidential meeting” to discuss some problems of the jail and its prisoners.

At the allotted time, Jaiswal arrived at the young police officer’s residence. During the discussions, the jail superintendent whipped out an envelope from his pocket and offered it to Sharad Kumar as “as a token gift”, with a plea to desist from raiding the Bettiah jail frequently.

The DSP, also known as sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) in the area, saw currency notes of 500-rupee denomination inside the envelope.

Shocked over the audacity of a jail superintendent to bribe a police officer of DySP rank, Sharad Kumar called up Bettiah Superintendent of Police (SP) Nishant Kumar Tiwari and informed him about Jaiswal’s act.

In no time, SDO Sriprakash, along with magistrate Braj Kishore Singh, rushed to the spot. Jaiswal was taken into custody and remanded in the same jail of which he is the superintendent.

 “Jaiswal was arrested on the charge of trying to bribe a police officer. He wanted to put an end to the frequent raids carried out on the jail premises which had earlier led to the recovery of objectionable items like mobile phones, chargers, SIM cards and huge amount of cash,” said the Bettiah SP, while lauding the integrity of the young DSP.  

“Since Jaiswal seems to be hand in glove with the prisoners lodged there, we will urge the chief judicial magistrate to shift him to some other jail,” the SP added.