Nagpur: In a big catch, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) nabbed a Zone Forest Officer, Katol Forest Zone for accepting bribe of Rs 3 lakh and a Branch Engineer, Forest Department, Nagpur Circle for pocketing Rs 20,000 bribe from a contractor for clearing his bills.
The accused have been identified as Ashok Kashiram Makde (54), Zone Forest Officer, Katol Forest Division and Anil Padole, Branch Engineer, Forest Department, Nagpur Circle.
According to details, the complainant contractor had in 2016 bagged a sub-contract for a construction in Katol Zone after completing the due process. Out of the said construction works, four works were completed and a bill of Rs 11.46 lakh for the same was submitted to the Forest Department. The contractor had met the Zone Forest Officer Ashok Makde with a request to clear his bill. However, he was taken aback when Makde demanded a bribe of Rs 3 lakh for clearing his bill. Similarly, the complainant contractor had also met the Branch Engineer of Nagpur Circle Anil Padole submission of measurement of works done by him (contractor) to Ashok Makde so that his bill could be cleared. However, the Branch Engineer too demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 for the job. Since the contractor was dead against giving bribes to the government servants, he approached the ACB Nagpur and lodged a complaint in this connection.
Acting on the complaint, the ACB sleuths first verified the genuineness of the complaint regarding bribe demand and subsequently laid a trap on Wednesday (March 15). During the trap action, the accused Ashok Makde, Zone Forest Officer, Katol Forest Division and Anil Padole, Branch Engineer, Forest Department, Nagpur Circle demanded bribe of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 20,000 respectively from the complainant contractor. Both accused accepted the bribe money when the contractor offered them. The moment the accused pocketed the bribe money, ACB sleuths caught them red-handed in the dubious act.
After the successful trap, both the accused Ashok Makde, Zone Forest Officer, Katol Forest Division and Anil Padole, Branch Engineer, Forest Department, Nagpur Circle were booked by Sitabuldi police under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and placed under arrest.
The task was accomplished by DySP Ashwini Bhosale, Police Inspector Aniruddha Puri, constable Bhanudas Gite, Laxman Parteki, Woman Police Constable Rekha Yadav, driver Shishupal Wankhede, Manoj Kedar under the guidance of SP Mahesh Chimte.
