Bribe of ₹3 lakh demanded for land area correction

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Naib Tehsildar Nitin Ramesh Garje, a resident of My Home Society in Shahnoorwadi, has come under serious scrutiny after being caught demanding a Rs 3 lakh bribe for favourable area correction reports on five land files. While his agents were arrested red-handed, Garje managed to flee through the backdoor of his office.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday evening apprehended Garje’s agents Nitin Chavan and Sohel Zuber Bahashwan while they were accepting Rs 60,000 as an advance bribe on his behalf.

The complainant, a 50-year-old land buyer from Mitmita, had noticed a 9 sq.m. discrepancy in the area measurement of his plot. When he approached the Talathi, a correction report was sent to Garje’s office. However, instead of official processing, the complainant was directed by clerk Shivaji Harkal to meet Chavan, who demanded Rs 3 lakh to settle five files. The incident was promptly reported to ACB Superintendent police Sandeep Atole.

Garje escapes, office deserted within minutes

As news of the agents' arrest reached Garje, he reportedly fled from his office using the backdoor, leaving behind his wallet and bag. Within 10 minutes, the office was deserted by the remaining staff.

Garje had bribery history, yet promoted

Shockingly, Garje was previously arrested in July 2018 for accepting a Rs 2 lakh bribe to release a ration-loaded tempo. A case was filed at the Kotwali Police Station. Despite this blot on his record, he was promoted to Naib Tehsildar allegedly due to political backing. Following Thursday’s incident, ACB sealed his house after discovering that his family had vacated the premises.