Woman sarpanch held for accepting Rs 19,000 bribe in Palghar

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a woman sarpanch from Palghar district Maharashtra for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 19,000, an official said on Saturday, reported the PTI.

The official said that she had allegedly demanded the bribe amount for sanctioning the bill of a contractor for office work, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the woman was identified as Shobha Gawari (36), sarpanch of the Saprond Magathane Group Gram Panchayat, had allegedly demanded a two per cent “cut” for clearing the bill related to the expansion of the panchayat office.

After the contractor approached the ACB, the sarpanch was arrested on April 25 when she was accepting Rs 19,000 cash, the official said.

An FIR was registered against Gawari at Wada police station under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Cop held for demanding Rs 50,000 bribe to help man arrested in drugs case in Thane district

Meanwhile, in an another incident in Maharashtra`s Thane district, a police sub-inspector has been arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 to facilitate bail for a man in a drugs case, an official said on Saturday, reported the PTI.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday arrested the accused who was identified as 56-year-old Ramnath Tandalkar, a sub-inspector posted at Naya Nagar police station in Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate, Inspector Vijay Kawle said, as per the PTI.

He said that the cop had allegedly demanded Rs 70,000 from the brother of a man who had been allegedly arrested for peddling mephedrone and accused of peddling drugs, to facilitate bail and provide a favourable statement in court, the news agency reported.

After negotiations, Tandalkar brought down the bribe demand to Rs 50,000.

The complainant, however, approached the ACB and complained about the matter, the official said.

Kawle said that the ACB officials laid a trap on Friday and caught Tandalkar red-handed while accepting Rs 50,000 in bribe money from the complainant, reported PTI.

An FIR has been registered against the officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a probe is underway, he added.

(with PTI inputs)