Lokayukta police Caught An Education Official Of Taking ₹1 Lakh Bribe In Dhar

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): The Lokayukta police on Monday arrested district project coordinator Pradeep Kumar Khare, posted at the Dhar district education centre, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. He is accused of demanding Rs 17 lakh as commission for signing completion certificates related to toilet construction works under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

According to Lokayukta officials, the case pertains to the construction of 122 toilets in government school campuses across Dhar district. Around Rs 3.42 crore had been sanctioned for the works. Dilip Sadhav, assistant engineer in-charge at the district education centre, was supervising the projects.

The complainant alleged that Khare was demanding a five per cent commission amounting to Rs 17 lakh for signing completion certificates even before the construction work was fully completed.

Following the complaint, lodged with Lokayukta SP Rajesh Sahay, officials carried out verification and constituted a trap team. On Monday, the team caught Khare allegedly red-handed while accepting Rs one lakh as the first instalment of the bribe amount.

The action was carried out at the Circuit House in Dhar. A case was registered against the accused under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

The Lokayukta operation was conducted by acting inspector Sachin Pateriya along with acting head constable Ashish Shukla and constables Vijay Kumar, Kamlesh Parihar, Manish Mathur, Krishna Ahirwar and Prabhat More.

Khare denied the bribery allegations, claiming he was being framed. He alleged the money was forcibly placed near him and said funds from the State Education Centre are directly transferred into principals’ accounts, leaving him with no role in transactions.