Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Lokayukta Special Police Establishment (SPE), Indore unit, on Monday caught a junior supply officer (JSO) and his alleged mediator outside the Indore Collectorate premises for demanding and accepting a bribe from a rural gas agency co-director.
According to SP Lokayukta Rajesh Sahay, complainant Pramod Dubey, co-director of Patel HP Gas Gramin Vitarak Agency in Sonkatch tehsil of Dewas district, alleged that Food and Civil Supplies Department JSO Rahul Sharma and other officials accused him of illegally distributing commercial gas cylinders in Indore at inflated prices and threatened to register a criminal case against him on May 6.
To settle the matter and avoid legal action, Sharma allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs 1.50 lakh.
He allegedly accepted Rs 1 lakh as an advance and continued demanding the remaining Rs 50,000.
Unwilling to pay the balance amount, Dubey lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta. After verification of the complaint, a trap team led by officiating Inspector Ashutosh Mithas was constituted.
Acting on Sharma's instructions, his alleged informer and mediator, Ramu Lohiya of Palda, arrived near the Collectorate premises to collect a partial payment of Rs 20,000 from the complainant.
The Lokayukta team caught Lohiya red-handed while allegedly accepting the marked currency notes.
The team then instructed Lohiya to contact Sharma for delivery of the money. Sharma allegedly asked Lohiya to meet him at a tea stall opposite Gate No. 2 of the Collectorate premises.
When Sharma arrived, Lohiya handed over the envelope containing the bribe money.
However, sensing something amiss or to avoid the transaction within the official premises, Sharma allegedly refused to take the envelope and instructed Lohiya to deliver it to his residence later.
A case has been registered against the accused under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigations are underway.
"Officials demanded money everyday under new pretexts"
Complainant Pramod Dubey told the media that he had been subjected to harassment for a very long time.
According to him, Food Department officials frequently visited his agency and threatened him with legal action.
Dubey alleged that officials constantly pressured him by citing various excuses, ranging from vehicle leaks and lack of fire safety equipment to issues with cylinder caps and other technical flaws.
"They used every possible pretext to intimidate us, threatening to file a case against us. Ultimately, we grew utterly exhausted from this relentless harassment," he stated.
