Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Sub-inspector at Howrah's Bantra police station arrested over alleged bribe
A police officer in India got in trouble for doing something wrong.
His name is Subrata Sarkar, and he worked at a police station in Howrah.
The police think he took money from a man to make a problem go away.
The man's wife had complained that he hurt her.
The officer reportedly asked for ₹15,000 to settle the complaint.
The man told the anti-corruption police about it.
They gave him special money with a secret powder on it.
When the officer touched the money, the powder showed up in a water test.
That is how the police knew he took the bribe.
Now the officer is arrested and will go to court.
Subrata Sarkar, a sub-inspector at Bantra police station in Howrah, was arrested on Monday for allegedly accepting a ₹15,000 bribe.
The arrest was made by the state police's anti-corruption branch (ACB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Sarkar allegedly demanded the money from complainant Avijit Ruidas to suppress a domestic violence case lodged by his wife, Puja Ruidas.
ACB officers set a trap using notes coated with phenolphthalein powder; a water test turned pink, confirming Sarkar had handled the bribe money.
The arrest came within a fortnight of the Bengal government reinforcing the ACB with three senior IPS officers and 16 police personnel.
- Who
- Subrata Sarkar, a sub-inspector at Bantra police station in Howrah, arrested by the state police's anti-corruption branch (ACB).
- What
- Allegedly accepted a ₹15,000 bribe to suppress a domestic violence case registered against complainant Avijit Ruidas.
- When
- Monday afternoon, within a fortnight of the Bengal government reinforcing the ACB; the domestic violence complaint was lodged on August 1.
- Where
- Inside Bantra police station in Howrah, West Bengal.
- Why
- Sarkar allegedly demanded the money to settle the domestic violence complaint lodged by Puja Ruidas against her husband Avijit.
- Accused
- Subrata Sarkar, sub-inspector, Bantra police station, Howrah
- Alleged bribe amount
- ₹15,000
- Legal basis
- Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
- Complainant
- Avijit Ruidas
- Domestic violence complaint
- Filed by Puja Ruidas on August 1
- Trap method
- Notes coated with phenolphthalein powder
- Next step
- Produced before court on Tuesday
- ACB reinforcement
- Three senior IPS officers and 16 police personnel deputed within a fortnight