WCL senior overseer held by CBI in Umred for taking Rs 40,000 bribe to clear contractor's bill
CBI's Nagpur unit caught Pawan Nakhate of Western Coalfields Limited red-handed near Gangapur Chowk, after he allegedly sought a bribe to clear a Rs 25.35 lakh bill.
A senior overseer of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) has been arrested by the CBI's Nagpur unit for allegedly demanding a bribe to clear a Rs 25.35 lakh bill of a civil contractor from Nagpur district. He was caught red-handed accepting the money.
The arrested senior overseer is Pawan Nakhate, who was posted in the Gokul Murpar sub-area of the Umred region. The CBI carried out the operation on Wednesday near Gangapur Chowk in Umred. Nakhate was caught taking a bribe of Rs 40,000. The action sent shockwaves through WCL.
According to the CBI, a contractor had filed a complaint against Nakhate on September 29. The contractor had been awarded a WCL contract to arrange drinking water at the Pirwa village resettlement site. The work involved drilling two borewells, installing submersible pumps, laying an internal main line and laying a distribution pipeline.
At the officials' request, the contractor had started the work before the contract was issued. The officials had also halted some of the work. After the work was completed, the contractor began the process of getting the third bill paid. The total amount of this bill was Rs 25.35 lakh.
According to the complaint, Nakhate had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 for the payment of about Rs 22 lakh. The contractor reported this to the CBI.
The complaint was verified on September 29 in the presence of an independent witness. During this, Nakhate allegedly demanded about 2 per cent of the roughly Rs 22 lakh payment, that is Rs 44,000. He also allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 that was already pending, taking the total demand to Rs 54,000.
After negotiation, Nakhate allegedly reduced the bribe amount to Rs 50,000. Once the demand was confirmed, the CBI laid a trap.
Nakhate came to meet the complainant near Gangapur Chowk in Umred. There he accepted a bribe of Rs 40,000 and was caught in the CBI's trap. The team arrested him on the spot.
A case has been registered against him under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Further investigation is under way.
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