Beed: A senior technician of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Sunday afternoon for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹13,000 to replace a faulty electricity meter in Parli Vaijnath.
The accused has been identified as Arun Suresh Gite (31), a senior technician stationed at the office of the Additional Executive Engineer, MSEDCL, Parli.
According to ACB officials, the complainant, an employee of a private firm, had his residential power supply disconnected and the meter removed by power utility staff on September 25. When he approached Gite to resolve the issue, the technician allegedly claimed that the existing meter was faulty and demanded ₹15,000 as a bribe to install a replacement and restore the electricity connection.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the consumer lodged a complaint with the Jalna unit of the ACB on Sunday.
Acting on the complaint, an ACB team initiated a verification process. While Gite was not present at his office, he contacted the complainant over the phone and directed him to Mauli Nagar. During their meeting, Gite reiterated his demand of ₹15,000 before eventually negotiating and settling for ₹13,000.
Following the verification, the ACB laid a trap near a distribution transformer (DP) in the Jirgenagar area of Parli around 1.10pm on Sunday. Gite was caught red-handed while accepting the negotiated sum of ₹13,000 in the presence of independent witnesses. The tainted cash was seized on the spot.
Simultaneously, a separate team led by Beed ACB officer Samadhan Kawade carried out a search at Gite’s rented residence in the Jalalpur area of Parli.
The operation was conducted by a Jalna ACB team comprising Police Head Constable Gajanan Ghaywat, and personnel Manohar Bhutekar, Gajanan Kamble, Shivling Khule, Ganesh Cheke and Police Naik Kapse, under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police (ACB Jalna) B. S. Jadhavar and the overall guidance of Superintendent of Police (ACB, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Range) Madhuri Kedar-Kangane.
