In a significant anti-corruption operation, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Thane apprehended Santosh Mahadev Patil, a 46-year-old Revenue Assistant at the Kalyan Tehsil Office, for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹40,000.
According to the complaint lodged on October 14, 2024, by the complainant, Patil had allegedly demanded the bribe to facilitate the mutation of the complainant's name in the 7/12 land record document for a property in Raite village, Murbad, Thane district. The complainant had already obtained the necessary farmer certificate from the Tehsildar of Kerakat, Uttar Pradesh, and submitted it to the Kalyan Tehsil Office for the required procedures.
During the verification process conducted on December 17, 2024, it was revealed that Patil had sought ₹20,000 for himself and ₹20,000 for the Tehsildar, totaling ₹40,000. Acting on this information, the ACB laid a trap on December 18, 2024, at the Revenue Section of the Kalyan Tehsil Office. Patil was caught red-handed accepting the bribe in the presence of witnesses at 4:38 PM.
Patil has been taken into custody, and further legal action is underway at Mahatma Phule Police Station in Thane.
The ACB Thane Division has urged citizens to come forward with any information regarding corruption or demands for bribes by public officials.