Tejas Madan Garge, Director of the Directorate of State Archaeology and Museum, and Aarti Mrinal Ale, Assistant Director of the Archaeology Department in Nashik, were apprehended by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) while accepting a bribe of ₹1.5 lakh. The ACB lodged a case against Garge and Ale at the Indiranagar Police Station in Nashik City.
Reportedly, a 32-year-old resident of Nashik filed a complaint with the Nashik ACB. The complainant, a contractor, sought a no-objection certificate from the Nashik Assistant Director's Office of the State Archaeology Department to commence a factory project. Ale, who oversees antiques at Sarkar Wada, demanded a bribe of ₹1.5 lakh in exchange for facilitating the issuance of the certificate. Subsequently, the complainant alerted the ACB.
Upon verification, the ACB team confirmed the bribe exchange, and Ale was caught red-handed. Remarkably, Ale accepted the bribe while on maternity leave. Subsequently, Garge agreed to his share, leading to a case against him. However, Garge absconded after the case was filed, prompting a joint search operation by police and officials from the Mumbai ACB department.
The operation was led by Superintendent of Police Sharmistha Gharge-Walawalkar and Assistant Superintendent of Police Madhav Reddy, under the guidance of Deputy Superintendent of Police Narendra Pawar, Police Inspectors NB Suryavanshi, and Suvarna Handore, with assistance from officers Sachin Gosavi and Avinash Pawar.
