Tejas Navale
Pune: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a woman clerk from the Shirur Sub-Divisional Office and her accomplice for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1.6 lakh to clear a land allocation proposal for families affected by the Temghar project.
A case has been registered against Sujata Manohar Badade, a clerk at the Shirur Sub-Divisional Office, and Tanaji Shripati Marne (46), a resident of Upper Indira Nagar, Bibvewadi, under the Prevention of Corruption Act at Bundgarden Police Station. The arrests came after a complaint was lodged with the ACB.
According to the complaint, the state government had acquired land belonging to the complainant and his family for the Temghar project and had sanctioned alternative plots in Vitthalwadi, Shirur taluka. Each displaced family was entitled to two gunthas of land for agricultural and residential purposes. However, their proposals had been pending approval at the Shirur Sub-Divisional Office.
Investigations revealed that Badde initially demanded Rs 50,000 per proposal for approval, amounting to a staggering Rs 4 lakh for eight proposals. Following negotiations, the demand was reduced to Rs 40,000 per proposal, totalling Rs 3.2 lakh. The complainant was instructed to pay Rs 1.6 lakh as the first installment before the proposals could move forward.
On Badade’s instructions, the money was handed over to Tanaji Marne at the Shirur office. However, before the illicit transaction could be completed, the ACB team intervened and caught Marne red-handed while accepting the bribe.
Subsequent interrogation revealed that the entire operation was orchestrated by Badade. Following this, a case was registered against both individuals late at night, and they were taken into custody. The ACB is now probing whether more officials are involved in the bribery racket.
