Authorities suspended 98 police officers who were caught on tape allegedly taking bribes from drivers at a private bus line that has been involved in dozens of fatal accidents in New Delhi, a police spokesman said Sunday. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the police officers identified on the tape were suspended Saturday and police have opened an investigation. It was unclear what the alleged bribes were for, he said. The suspended officers were filmed by a real estate agent, Chetan Prakash, who has conducted stings on his own to uncover corruption and submitted the tapes to the authorities. Last year he caught 11 police officers taking bribes in a separate sting. Drivers of the overcrowded Blueline buses are infamous for running red lights, speeding and swerving erratically through the city's free-for-all traffic. Local newspapers often carry reports about Blueline buses - dubbed “killer buses” - mowing down pedestrians, commuters and motorcyclists and then fleeing the scene. The Hindustan Times said Blueline buses caused 120 deaths last year and 19 so far this year. Bhagat was unable to confirm those numbers. Blueline drivers asked Prakash last July to conduct the sting in the wake of a police crackdown on private buses after an 11-year-old boy was struck and killed by a Blueline bus. Prakash accompanied the drivers with a hidden camera, filming traffic police across the city taking payments from bus drivers between October and December, Bhagat said. Each of the roughly 4,500 Blueline buses in the capital are privately owned by individuals. A group representing the bus owners could not be reached for comment. Last year, the Delhi High Court asked Delhi officials to come up with a plan to phase out the privately run buses, citing safety concerns. __
