Pune: API Nandkumar Kadam reports to ACB that real estate agent wanted to bribe him

Pune: Assistant Police Inspector (API) Nandkumar Kadam demonstrated his honesty and commitment to duty by refusing a bribe offered to him. He did not stop at that. He also complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the person offering the bribe was arrested.

API Kadam said, “We are here to do justice to the people. He was looting money from the poor and giving it to me. I told him many times that I do not want money. I earn a good salary. He should return money to the poor people. However, he was not giving back their money and was offering a bribe to me. Finally, I lodged a complaint with the ACB. They set a trap and nabbed him.”

Kadam was working in Kolhapur as a police constable. He wrote the MPSC competitive exam and became a PSI. Many aspirants take the exam to get a government job and earn money through ‘bribes’. But some like Kadam are an exception. Nandkumar Kadam has become an idol for many youths.

Nandkumar’s father Prakash Kadam also served in the police force. He retired as a Police Inspector from Sangli. Inspired by his father, Nandkumar joined the force as a police constable in 2006. He continued his studies for the MPSC competitive exam and passed it while serving in the police department. Kadam was posted in Gadchiroli for three years as the PSI. Later, he was transferred to Pimpri-Chinchwad for another 3.5 years. Then he was posted in Mumbai, where he was promoted as the API and sent to Pune. He is currently attached with the Bund Garden Police Station.

Speaking about the bribery case, he said, “Money is not my motto. I always try to do justice to people while on duty. In this case, real estate agent Hasan Ali Bartakke cheated a woman. She wanted to purchase a flat through Bartakke. She paid Rs 14.50 lakh to him. Bartakke did not give the money to the flat owner. The deal could not be done. Then he told the woman that he would cut 20 pc as his commission and give the remaining amount to her. She told him that since the deal was not done, he could not charge the commission.

“An offence was registered. I summoned him. He was trying to offer money to me from that time onwards. He wanted to give money to me from the complainant’s amount. I told him that I have a good salary and do not want money. He was not listening. Then I enquired and lodged a complaint with the ACB. This was a rare case for them. Taking a bribe as well as offering a bribe is an offence. They studied the case and set a trap. During the operation, he offered me money. I have joined the police force to do my duty honestly.”

It is a rare case that the ACB tackled. It is the first such case in the past many years. ACB (Pune) SP Shirish Sardeshpande said, “Such cases are rare. Some officers, personnel always oppose such bribes, which is a good thing. Usually, bribes are demanded from complainants. During a trap, we put powder on the currency notes as proof. In such cases, the accused has the money. Action is taken in the presence of a witness. The conversation is recorded on voice recorder.”