Gram panchayat official held for accepting Rs 3,000 bribe in Thane district

Thane, Jan 4 (PTI) A 41-year-old gram panchayat official from Maharashtra’s Thane district was arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000, an official said on Saturday.

Suresh Rathod, who works in the Shahapur taluka, had demanded Rs 5,000 to help a person avail of a government scheme, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) official said.

While the complainant negotiated and got the bribe amount reduced to Rs 3,000, the individual also alerted the ACB.

The anti-graft agency laid a trap and arrested Rathod after he accepted the money at the Varaskol gram panchayat office on Friday.

He has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, said inspector Rajashri Shinde of the Thane ACB. PTI COR NR