Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
A rural revenue officer (talathi) was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for accepting a bribe in Jalna district on Wednesday.
The accused, Gajanan Barwal (36), talathi, Class III, posted at Sindhi Kalegaon Saja, allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 and accepted Rs 3,000 after negotiations. According to the ACB, the complainant had submitted documents on Tuesday, for recording a mutation entry related to inheritance following his father’s death. Barwal allegedly demanded a bribe to process the entry and forward the file to the circle officer. Unwilling to pay, the complainant approached the ACB, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. After verifying the demand, the ACB laid a trap on January 28. During the operation, Barwal accepted Rs 3,000 from the complainant in the presence of panch witnesses and was immediately apprehended. A case is being registered at Jalna tehsil police station. A search of the accused’s residence is underway, and further investigation will be carried out by the ACB Jalna unit.