Gondia woman gram sevak and husband caught by ACB taking Rs 1 lakh bribe from ex-serviceman

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Gondia has caught a woman gram sevak and her husband red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh. The two are alleged to have demanded Rs 5.5 lakh from an ex-serviceman for work linked to a proposal for five acres of agricultural land. Police have taken both into custody.

The complainant is a 48-year-old retired ex-serviceman. As an ex-serviceman, he had submitted a proposal to the Gondia district collector seeking five acres of agricultural land from the government. For this proposal, a gram panchayat resolution had to be passed and no-objection certificate (NOC) documents had to be prepared.

The gram sevak of Manegaon (Class 3) village in Amgaon tehsil, Usha Jayakrishna Patil (42), and her husband Ramakant Gyaniram Motghare (54) are alleged to have demanded the bribe for this work. According to the allegation, the two demanded Rs 5.5 lakh in the name of the gram panchayat's sarpanch and members. A separate Rs 1 lakh was also demanded for themselves to get the work started.

The ex-serviceman was not willing to pay the bribe, so he lodged a complaint at the ACB office in Gondia on October 9. During verification of the complaint, the ACB confirmed the demand with the help of independent witnesses and a voice recorder. It emerged that the accused had allegedly demanded Rs 5.5 lakh for getting the work done and a separate Rs 1 lakh for themselves.

The ACB then planned further action. On Tuesday, October 13, the complainant was sent to the accused's home in Gondia with witnesses and a voice recorder. The woman gram sevak is alleged to have signalled to her husband. As soon as the husband accepted Rs 1 lakh from the complainant, the ACB team present there caught both red-handed.

A case has been registered against both at Gondia City police station under crime number 844/26, under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, for misuse of the position of a public servant. The couple is in custody.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Digambar Pradhan and Additional Superintendents of Police Madhuri Baviskar and Vijay Mahulkar, and was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Nilesh Lodhi. Police inspectors Arvind Raut and Umakant Ugale took part, along with police constables Bohre, Kahalkar, Shende, Bopche, Katkar, Sonwane, Batbarwe, Patle, Dange and other personnel.