AHMEDABAD: A CBI court has sentenced Suresh Bhagarkar, a former doctor with Air India Ltd, to three years’ imprisonment for accepting a bribe to manipulate a medical report for a job applicant.
Special Judge M.R. Chaudhary convicted Bhagarkar under Section 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The case was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2011.
The prosecution presented 27 witnesses and 49 pieces of documentary evidence to establish that Narendrasinh Gohil, a candidate for the Air India Transport Service Ltd (AIATSL) security agent post in Ahmedabad, was forced to deposit Rs 5,000 in Bhagarkar’s private bank account in Gandhinagar in January 2011.
Gohil had approached the CBI after the doctor allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000–Rs 25,000 to alter his blood test results before his job confirmation.
During the trial, the court accepted evidence showing that Bhagarkar, after conducting Gohil’s medical check-up, wrote his mobile number on a paper chit and later demanded the bribe over the phone. He also sent an SMS containing his name and bank account details for depositing the illegal payment.
Following Bhagarkar’s conviction, his defence requested leniency, citing his advanced age, his wife’s illness, and the prolonged trial spanning over a decade.
However, rejecting the plea, the court observed:
“Punishment must always be just, neither harsh nor lenient. Corruption is an evil in society. The menace of corruption is a cancerous epidemic which has tentacles in the far nooks and corners of our country. It is corruption which is preventing our country from emerging as a developed country. The corruption by public servants has become a gigantic problem. It has a deep and pervasive impact on the functioning of the entire country.”