Ahmednagar civic chief, aide booked by corruption body for demanding Rs 8 lakh bribe

Mumbai: In a shocking development, Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation's (AMC) commissioner and administrator Dr Pankaj Jawale and his aide have been booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a case of alleged bribery.

The ACB registered a case against Jawale (47), a Class-1 officer and Sridhar Deshpande (48), a typist-clerk,  for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 8 lakhs from a real estate developer.

This is one of the recent incidents in which a senior officer has been booked on charges of corruption.

ACB Deputy Superintendent of Police Kiran Bidve, who heads the Jalna unit, has confirmed the development.

The accused allegedly made the bribe on June 19 and 20, amounting to Rs 9.30 lakh, which was later curtailed down to Rs 8 lakhs.

The ACB launched investigations after a Jalna-based real estate developer lodged a complaint.

The complainant, along with his partners, had purchased a 2,260.22 sq. metre plot of land at Mauje-Nalegaon in the jurisdiction of AMC and wanted to develop the plot, for which online application was made. However, the accused demanded a huge bribe after which he approached the ACB.

Investigations are currently in progress and an FIR is being lodged. 

With the monsoon session currently underway, the issue would echo in the legislature.