In a significant anti-corruption operation, the Nashik Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) successfully apprehended an Assistant Engineer employed by the Maharashtra Industrial Area Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) while accepting a staggering bribe of ₹1 crore. The accused engineer has been identified as Amit Kishore Gaikwad (32), with allegations also extending to the involvement of sub-divisional engineer Ganesh Wagh. A case has been registered against the duo under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the MIDC police station in the city.
According to ACB sources, the Assistant Engineer implicated in the bribery scandal, Amit Gaikwad, hails from Nagpur. The complainant in this case is a contractor who had recently completed the installation of a 1000 mm diameter pipeline. Trouble arose when the contractor sought approval for the project and submitted bills for payment, prompting Gaikwad to demand an exorbitant ₹1 crore bribe in exchange for securing the required signatures from the engineer overseeing the project. Subsequently, the contractor reported the extortion to the Nashik ACB.
The ACB team in Nashik swiftly organized a sting operation, positioning themselves near the Anand Super Market building along the Ahmednagar-Sambhajinagar highway last Friday afternoon. During this operation, Gaikwad accepted the staggering bribe amount of ₹1 crore, which he had demanded for himself and Wagh. The exchange took place in front of a punch, as Gaikwad made a phone call to Wagh to confirm the bribe's receipt and inquire about the location for delivering Wagh's share, to which Wagh replied, 'Keep it with you for now; I will provide instructions shortly on where to deliver it.'
