The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Wednesday registered its first case of the year by arresting two government employees including a class 1 officer in a bribery case.
According to ACB, the names of the arrested persons are Anand Bhosale, 40, assistant commissioner of labour and deputy registrar of Konkan region at the office of Labour Commissioner, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), and Tanaji Salunkhe, a senior clerk in the same office.
The complainant in the case is a commercial artist who was seeking to register an artist union named ‘Shree Ganesh Murtikar Kamgar Sanghatna’ with the labour office. An application regarding the same was submitted to the office.
“The two accused demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 for registration of the union,” said a senior ACB officer. The complainant, who did not wish to pay the bribe, approached the ACB in this regard. “We verified the complaint and it was revealed that Bhosale had lowered down the bribe amount to Rs 15,000 for himself while Salunkhe demanded Rs 5,000 to get the work done,” the officer said.
A trap was laid in this regard in which Bhosale and Salunkhe were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. The duo has been charged under section 7 (public servant taking gratification) of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.
Last month, the ACB booked two officers of the Sangli Sahakari Bank Limited in Dadar. The name of the accused is Narayan Yadav, 39, and Kiran Supekar, 47, both recovery and sales officers. The complainant in the case had acquired a loan from the bank. The duo demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 to lower down the interest rate on the loan. Out of the total Rs 50,000 EMI, the accused asked the complainant to pay Rs 30,000 and demanded Rs 20,000 as bribe. The complainant approached the ACB in which Supekar was caught red handed while accepting the bribe.
