Water department official caught accepting bribe

Mumbai: The Thane unit of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested an accountant attached to the state water management department for accepting a bribe to the tune of Rs 14,000. The accused had sought money for clearing the bills of a firm that repairs and maintains computers and the hardware system of the water management office.

The arrested accused was identified as Shantikumar Patil (57), attached to the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran’s (MJP) water supply department at Ambarnath. Mr Patil was the concerned authority to clear the bills of the contractor from Classic Computer, which maintained computers and systems at the Ambarnath office.

Mr Patil demanded a bribe when the said representative sought clearance of the bill for a stipulated period of time. “Mr Patil assured the contractor of reappointment when the government floated a fresh tender for again awarding the contract. Mr Patil also said that the security deposit was yet to be released for which the bribe was required to be paid,” said an ACB officer.

The contractor did not want to pay the bribe and hence, approached the Thane ACB and lodged a complaint against Mr Patil. The officials verified the complaint and laid a trap at Mr Patil’s office. He was apprehended by the ACB while accepting the bribe.

The officials are now probing Mr Patil’s antecedents to ascertain his past record and verify whether he had accepted bribes in the past. A case has been registered against Mr Patil under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the investigators will also send a report on Mr Patil to the MJP.