Maharashtra: ACB arrests three agri dept officers for demanding Rs 24,500 bribe to clear files of farmers

Three officers of the Maharashtra agriculture department and a contractual employee were nabbed by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from Aurangabad district for allegedly demanding a Rs 24,500 bribe to sanction files of farmers, an official said.

The complainant is a dealer who supplied drip irrigation-related material to 35 farmers under a state government scheme. He was allegedly asked to pay Rs 700 per file by the three officers posted in Khultabad taluka, the official said.

The bribe money was accepted by the contractual employee at a hotel on Monday. One of the agriculture officers demanded Rs 1,000 from the complainant and accepted the money on the spot, while two others pressured him to pay the bribe, he said.