Raipur: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Bilaspur, has filed a chargesheet against dismissed Government Railway Police (GRP) constable Santosh Kumar Rathore in a disproportionate assets (DA) case, alleging that his expenditure exceeded his known sources of income by over Rs 16 lakh.
The chargesheet was filed on October 5 before the court of the Special Judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, Bilaspur, in Crime No. 57/2024 registered under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
The ACB had registered the case after receiving information that Rathore, Constable No. 462, had allegedly accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Bureau officials conducted searches at his residence in Bilaspur and other premises on December 1, 2024.
During the investigation, the ACB scrutinised Rathore’s financial records and assessed his known income at Rs 46,08,341 against expenditure of Rs 62,28,137. The investigation thus found expenditure exceeding his known income by Rs 16,19,796.
The chargesheet was submitted after obtaining the requisite prosecution sanction from the competent authority.
Rathore is presently lodged in Bilaspur jail in connection with a separate narcotics case. During his posting with GRP Bilaspur, he and other constables had allegedly intercepted cannabis smugglers travelling by train and extorted money from them in return for withholding legal action under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In connection with the narcotics case, GRP Bilaspur registered Crime No. 117/2024 under Sections 20(B) and 29 of the NDPS Act against Rathore. The case was subsequently transferred to the Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit (ACCU), Bilaspur, which filed chargesheet No. 46-A/2024 before the Special Judge, NDPS Act, Bilaspur.
The Superintendent of Police (Railways), Chhattisgarh, dismissed Rathore from service on November 19, 2024, citing gross criminal misconduct in connection with the NDPS case.
