The headmistress of Holy Cross Marathi High School in the cantonment area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday (April 9) while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹300. The accused has been identified as Maria Jose Estibero (52). She had reportedly demanded a bribe from a former student in exchange for issuing a school-leaving certificate. The complainant required the document for personal work and approached the headmistress. During their interaction, she allegedly demanded ₹500 to process and provide the certificate, making it clear that the work would not be completed without payment.
Despite sending the required documents via speed post, the complainant was reportedly told that the certificate would not be issued unless the demanded amount was paid. Unwilling to give in to the bribe demand, the complainant approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau on April 7 and filed a formal complaint. Following this, a verification exercise was conducted on April 8, during which the headmistress agreed to accept ₹300 instead of the originally demanded ₹500. Based on this confirmation, officials planned a trap to catch her in the act while accepting the bribe amount.
On Thursday afternoon, the Anti-Corruption Bureau laid a trap in the headmistress’s office. As soon as she accepted the ₹300 from the complainant, the ACB team apprehended her on the spot. During the operation, officials seized the bribe money along with a mobile phone worth ₹15,000 from her possession. A search of her residence is currently underway, and the process of registering a case at the Cantonment Police Station is in progress. The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Madhuri Kedar Kangane, with a team including Police Inspectors Chainsing Gusinge, Valmik Kore, Rajendra Nandile, Sachin Barse, Asha Kunte, and Changdev Bagul.