Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Assistant Engineer posted at Janpad Panchayat, who was caught red handed accepting a bribe , was demanding 5% commission to approve and verify the bills of the development works worth Rs 18 lakh, said police on Wednesday.
Seetaram Kori, the assistant engineer posted at Batiagarh Janpad Panchayat of district Damoh was sitting on many such project files for want of money. Economic Offence Wing Sagar on Monday had caught Kori accepting Rs 25,000 from the son of a Sarpanch on Monday.
EOW, SP Sagar Sunil Patidar told Free Press that the complainant Jitendra Lodhi, son of Sarpanch Badi Bai, had filed a complaint that Kori was demanding Rs 90,000 to release the development work amount. Lodi was to give Rs 25,000 as first installment.
The SP said that in village panchayat Kathora, development works worth Rs 18 lakh were carried out. The works worth Rs 15 lakh were done under different schemes of the government and works worth Rs 3 lakh funds were done from MLA discretionary fund.
The AE was demanding Rs 90,000 as a 5% commission to verify that the project was carried out as per the rules and norms.
Sources close to the investigating team said that during the probe it has come to fore that the AE was sitting on more such files and was not carrying out verification of the completed project.
The police will record statements of the sarpanchs who’s files were pending with the AE and also those sarpanchs who had received the amount after the verification of the work completed. The police are also going to record the statements of other panchayat officials as well.
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