The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) laid a successful trap and caught a Kotwal red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 inside the tehsil office at Paithan on Sunday. A Talathi has also been named in the case for allegedly encouraging the bribe.
The complainant, a 39-year-old man from Paithan tehsil, had submitted a file for a land partition deed to Kotwal Kolhe (36), posted at the Talathi Saja office in Apegaon. The land in question, located in Gat No. 58, measures 16R of the complainant’s share from a 50R joint plot. On August 1, when the complainant followed up, Kolhe allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 to forward the proposal to the Talathi. A formal complaint was filed with the ACB unit in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The ACB verified the demand on August 4, when Kolhe again asked for Rs 8,000 in the presence of panch witnesses. Following confirmation, a trap was set at the government Tehsil office building in Paithan. During the operation, Kolhe informed Talathi Akshay Biniwale (30) about the bribe, both over the phone and in person. Biniwale allegedly consented and encouraged Kolhe to accept the amount. Kolhe was then caught red-handed accepting Rs 8,000 from the complainant in front of official witnesses. The ACB seized a Motorola Edge 50 mobile phone and Rs 10,100 in cash from Kolhe, including the bribe amount. From Biniwale, an OnePlus 11R phone and Rs 100 in cash were recovered. Their mobile phones have been seized for forensic analysis, and house searches are underway. An FIR is being registered against both at Paithan Police Station (Rural). The competent authority in the case is the Sub-Divisional Officer of Paithan. The trap was executed under the supervision of police inspector Chainsing Gusinge of the ACB, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.