Anti-corruption bureau (ACB) sleuths arrested two persons on Tuesday while accepting a bribe of 25 lakhs in the name of Maharashtra Legislative Council member Wajahat Mirza. They had demanded Rs 1 crore from a government employee for not raising an issue against him in the legislative council. One of the accused, Dilip Khade (50), is a technician in MIDC, while the other, Shekhar Bhoyar is a political worker. Sources said the government employee belonged to the RTO department.
A female colleague of the complainant had filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. Mirza had raised this issue in the legislative council. The accused later approached the complainant claiming they were close to MLC Mirza. They claimed Mirza will not raise the issue further and no action will be taken against him if he pays Rs 50 lakh each to them.
The official claimed he could not pay such a large amount, after which a deal was struck for Rs. 25 lakh. The official approached ACB. After verifying the complaint, ACB laid a trap. As decided, the official went to Ravi Bhavan with 25 lakh in cash and gave it to the accused. The waiting ACB sleuths nabbed the duo red-handed. The accused tried to browbeat the cops again using the name of MLC Mirza, but sleuths arrested and registered an offence against them.
The ACB is investigating why the accused used Mirza's name. MLC Mirza claimed that he too had learned about the action through the media. "I have no involvement in this case and have no connection with the accused. Several people approach me to raise questions in the legislative council. I raise important issues in the house and had raised this one too. The accused have misused my name," he said.
According to the ACB official, though Khode has an ordinary job, he lives in the posh Hiranandani Meadows in West Thane. Buying a unit there was impossible for someone with Khode's known means, they said.