After a bribery case was registered against Ahmednagar Municipal Commissioner Dr. Pankaj Jawale and his personal assistant Shridhar Deshpande, they have fled. Three teams from the Anti-Corruption Bureau have been sent to various locations to search for them.
During a house search of the Municipal Commissioner's personal secretary Shridhar Deshpande's residence, conducted by Police Inspector Smt. Chhaya Devare's team, they found 93,000 rupees in cash, gold jewelry weighing eight and a half tolas, and documents related to nine properties. These properties appear to have been purchased in upscale areas of Nagar city, in suburbs, and farmland in Beed district, according to the recovered documents.
The case came to light when a 41-year-old businessman, who runs a construction company named 4K Realty with his partners, filed a complaint with the ACB on June 19, 2024. The complainant had purchased a 2,260.22 square meter plot in Nalegaon, within the Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation limits, and applied for construction permission on March 18, 2024.
According to the complaint, Dr. Jawale, through Deshpande, initially demanded a bribe of 9,30,000 rupees for granting the construction permit. Unwilling to pay, the businessman approached the ACB. During the verification process conducted on June 19 and 20, 2024, Deshpande was caught red-handed demanding 8 Lakh rupees from the complainant in the presence of witnesses.
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The investigation revealed that Municipal Commissioner Dr. Jawale was allegedly encouraging Deshpande to solicit the bribe. A case is being registered at Topkhana Police Station, Ahmednagar district, as the public servants demanded eight lakh rupees in front of witnesses for granting construction permits.
The further investigation is being conducted by Deputy Superintendent of Police Pravin Lokhande, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Ahmednagar, under the guidance of Superintendent of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Nashik, Smt. Sharmishtha Gharge Walavalkar.