Two block officers, policeman held for taking bribes
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested two talatis from Kheda and Panchmahals districts on corruption charges. A police head constable was also arrested from the district for accepting a bribe.
The ACB said Bipin Parekh, a talati from Sarnala grampanchayat in Kheda district, was arrested for demanding a bribe of Rs 1,500 to allot a house under the Indira Awas Yojana. The victim, Kirit Chavda, the ACB said, wanted to get a house under the scheme and approached Parekh to approve the documents required for allotment. Parekh, however, asked for Rs 1,000 to sign the documents. When Chavda requested him on Monday to return his documents, Parekh demanded Rs 1,500 instead. In another case, Kaji, a talati from the Kalol panchayat, was arrested for reportedly demanding a bribe of Rs 1,300 from a farmer.
ACB officials said the victim, Samant Patel, who owns a farmland near Alindra in the Kalol area, had approached the mamlatdar office to get a well, illegally dug up on his land, removed. However, no action was taken and the accused talati instead demanded a bribe of Rs 1,300.
Both accused were arrested red-handed by the ACB in the panchayat offices accepting bribes. The Anti-Corruption Bureau also nabbed a police constable, Ramesh Patel, for accepting a bribe of Rs 7,500. The ACB said Patel told the victim, Dilip Pagi, that his wife had lodged a complaint of harassment against him. Patel reportedly demanded Rs 25, 000 to let him free, but later settled for Rs 7,500.
Patel called Pagi to the Morva outpost to hand him over the bribe amount. However, the victim approached the ACB, which arrested the constable red-handed while taking the bribe.