MSEDCL Executive Engineer Caught Red-Handed Accepting ₹5,000 Bribe In Ambajogai

Beed: An Executive Engineer of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) in Ambajogai was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹5,000.

The accused has been identified as Manish Pundlikrao Dakare (47), Executive Engineer posted at the MSEDCL division office in Ambajogai, Beed district.

According to ACB officials, the complainant was seeking a loan and subsidy from the Annasaheb Patil Arthik Vikas Mahamandal to set up an aqua plant. As part of the technical requirements, the complainant needed an approved budget estimate for the installation of a new 25 KV transformer at the plant site.

When the proposal was sent to Dakare for his official approval, he allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹5,000 to clear the file.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the entrepreneur approached the ACB's Beed unit and lodged a complaint on July 6. Acting on the complaint, the anti-graft agency conducted a verification of the demand on the same day in the presence of independent government witnesses, which confirmed the alleged bribe demand.

"Based on the verification, a trap was laid at the MSEDCL office on Tuesday (July 7). Dakare was caught red-handed the moment he accepted the ₹5,000 bribe from the complainant," an ACB official said.

Dakare, a resident of Kalyan who was staying in Maulinagar, Ambajogai, has been taken into custody. A case is being registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, at Ambajogai City Police Station.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Madhuri Kedar Kangane and Additional Superintendent of Police Shashikant Shingare by a team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sopan Chittampalle.