Mahbubnagar: On India’s 73rd Independence Day, Palle Thirupathi Reddy was awarded the best constable. It no doubt was a matter of pride for the officer, but his short-lived reputation of high esteem was undone by himself after he was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for accepting a bribe of Rs 17,000 the very next day.

On August 15, Reddy of Mahbubnagar district was awarded Best Constable by the Telangana government and Telangana excise minister Srinivas Goud handed him a certificate to acknowledge his services.

According to reports, I-Town Police Station constable Reddy on August 16 demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 17,000 from a complainant named M Ramesh. Ramesh handed over the money to the policeman in an attempt to avoid a case of illegal sand mining being registered against him. But little did Reddy know that this was part of a sting operation.

For over a year Reddy had been demanding money from Ramesh by threatening to confiscate his tractor if he didn’t comply.

Fed up by this, Ramesh approached the ACB, who investigated the issue and caught Reddy with the money that was laden with chemicals in a sting operation. The Anti-Corruption Bureau recovered the bribe from the accused policeman and his both hands tested positive in the chemical tests. Reddy was arrested and produced before the ACB court.