Maharashtra: Two forest officials held for accepting bribe in Palghar district

The Valiv police have booked the two under the Prevention of Corruption Act, an official said

Two forest officials from Maharashtra's Palghar district were arrested for allegedly demanding and accepting bribe from a complainant after threatening to take action against him, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said on Friday, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, one of the suspect who was identified as Pannalal Dinkar Beldar (35), is a forest guard and the second official, identified as Pankaj Shantaram Saner (45), is a ranger, said Harshal Chavan, deputy superintendent of police of ACB in Palghar district.

The ACB official said the complainant, who owns a chawl along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, was changing the entrance to his property in the opposite direction for easy access, but the two officials accused him of encroaching upon forest land, the news agency reported.

Saner on September 16 demanded Rs 2,40,000 from the complainant to not act against him. He paid Rs 90,000 to the accused duo the same day, said the official.

The complainant then approached the ACB, which laid a trap and nabbed the two on Thursday after Beldar allegedly accepted Rs 40,000 as part of the bribe, he said, the PTI reported.

The Valiv police have booked the two under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he added, as per the PTI.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested a Thane power company engineer working with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2,600 from power consumers, the ACB said on Thursday, reported the news agency PTI.

The 43-year-old Thane power company engineer initially demanded Rs 4,000 for the installation of four electric meters for as many consumers. After negotiations, he brought down the demand to Rs 2,600, the ACB said in a release, reported PTI.

The aggrieved consumers complained with the ACB's Thane unit which laid a trap on Wednesday at the MSEDCL's office at Shil Phata and nabbed the accused while accepting the bribe amount of Rs 2,600 from one of the complainants, it said, reported PTI.

The accused was booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the ACB said, reported PTI.

(with PTI inputs)

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