The Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested Vijay Shankar Awhad, a senior clerk in the Public Works Department (PWD) Thane Division 1, for accepting a bribe of ₹23,000. Awhad was caught red-handed during a trap operation and has been remanded to police custody until December 29, 2024, by the Court.
The case came to light after a complaint was filed alleging that Awhad demanded a bribe of ₹25,000. This amount included ₹20,000 intended for the executive engineer and ₹5,000 for Awhad himself. The bribe was sought as a 2% commission on a bill amount submitted by the complainant.
During the verification of the complaint, Awhad negotiated the bribe amount to ₹23,000. On December 26, 2024, at approximately 2:52 p.m., Awhad was apprehended by the ACB while accepting the amount at his office in the PWD Thane Division. The operation was carried out under the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amended 2018), Sections 7 and 7A. The case registered at Thane Nagar Police Station, is currently under investigation by the ACB Unit-Thane.