BHOPAL/SAGAR: Sagar Lokayukta police caught an executive engineer (EE) of MP discom, Tikamgarh accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a flour mill operator, on Friday.
The EE, Akhilesh Prasad Trivedi, 61, is EE in Madhya Pradesh electricity Board (MPEB) in Tikamgarh . Trivedi had demanded money from the flour mill operator Kishore Singh Dangi who had defaulted on electricity bills for two years, reportedly due to corona.
The MPEB recovery team had slapped a compounded bill on Dangi, of Rs 4 lakh. As he approached the executive engineer Trivedi, seeking relaxation in the bill, the official sought a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. He told Dangi that he will reduce the bill amount to Rs 1 lakh if he is paid the desired amount as this would save his Rs 2 lakh. When Dangi expressed inability to pay the amount, Trivedi asked him to pay it in two installments, Rs 50,000 now and remaining after six months.
Dangi approached Lokayukta officials and lodged a complaint.
The Lokayukta cops laid a trap and sent the complainant to Trivedi at his rented accommodation in Subhash colony, Tikamgarh with Rs 50,000 on Friday morning. As he was accepting the cash, Lokayukata sleuths waiting outside named him and booked him under relevant Sections.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) Lokayukta Sagar Rameshwar Yadav said the cops were at the officer’s residence and examining property details of the accused officer.
