A village sarpanch in Maharashtra’s Thane district has been arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 7.5 lakh to issue a mandatory guarantee letter for a lake conservation and beautification project, officials said on Saturday.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) laid a trap and caught Sanjay Parshuram Naik, 62, sarpanch of Karivili village in Bhiwandi taluka, while he was allegedly accepting the money on Friday, ACB inspector Pramod Ahire said, according to PTI.
Bribe demanded for guarantee letter
According to the ACB, the complainant had secured a tender worth Rs 2.33 crore from the Minor Irrigation Department of the Thane Zilla Parishad for the conservation and beautification of Karivili lake.
The project’s funding structure required 90 per cent of the total cost to be provided by the government. The remaining 10 per cent, amounting to around Rs 23.3 lakh, was to be contributed locally through public participation via the Karivili Gram Panchayat, officials said.
Before issuing the work order, the Zilla Parishad authorities instructed the complainant to submit a guarantee letter from the Gram Panchayat confirming that the local contribution would be deposited in instalments.
When the complainant approached Naik for the required letter, the sarpanch allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh, according to the ACB.
ACB lays trap, catches sarpanch
The ACB said part of the amount was initially paid. However, Naik allegedly failed to submit the guarantee letter to the Zilla Parishad and later demanded another Rs 10 lakh from the complainant.
Following negotiations, the alleged bribe amount was reduced to Rs 7.5 lakh, the ACB said.
The bureau subsequently laid a trap and caught Naik while he was allegedly accepting the amount on Friday.
The arrest followed an investigation into the complaint concerning the demand for money in connection with the official document required for the lake development project.
Case registered under anti-corruption law
The ACB has registered a case against Naik under the Prevention of Corruption Act, as amended in 2018, inspector Ahire said.
The case concerns allegations that the sarpanch sought money in exchange for issuing the guarantee letter required for the project to proceed.
The allegations against Naik have not been established in court. Further details about the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings were not provided in the supplied report.
(With inputs from PTI)
