Nashik: Maharashtra Govt Suspends Tejas Garge Amid Bribery Scandal; ACB Files Case against Him

The Nashik Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against Tejas Garge, Director of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, and Aarti Ale, Assistant Director in Nashik, in connection with an ₹1.5 lakh bribery case. Aarti Ale allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹1.5 lakh from the complainant to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Archeology Department for starting a company. During the investigation, it was discovered that Tejas Garge was also involved. As a result, the state government has suspended Tejas Garge.

A Nashik-based builder was granted permission by the Archeology Department after paying a bribe. BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar, the working president of Sahyadri Pratishthan, complained to the principal secretary of the state, leading to the suspension demand. The departmental inquiry revealed Tejas Garge's involvement, resulting in his suspension. Surprisingly, the police have failed to locate Tejas Garge, yet.

Tejas Garge, charged with inducing a female colleague to accept a bribe from the complainant, has been granted conditional Anticipatory Bail bail by the High Court. On May 7, the ACB caught Assistant Director Aarti Ale red-handed while accepting a bribe. Subsequently, a case was filed against Garge after evidence showed he agreed to share the bribe with Ale. Following the case filing, Dr Garge went into hiding. His pre-arrest bail application was rejected by the district court, prompting him to approach the High Court, which granted him conditional bail.