Maharashtra: RTO staffer among two held for accepting Rs 300 bribe from driver in Palghar

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An RTO inspector and a private individual have been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 300 from a driver for allowing his vehicle to cross a checkpost in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Tuesday, reported the PTI.

The anti-corruption bureau's Thane unit on Monday arrested Niloba Jyotibha Tandale (48), vehicle inspector RTO Thane, and Sunil Bhoir (62) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, deputy superintendent of police ACB Thane Pramod Jadhav told the PTI.

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The accused inspector allegedly demanded Rs 300 from the complainant driver for allowing his vehicle to cross the Talasari RTO checkpost in Palghar on Express Highway no 48, he said.

The duo accepted the bribe money and allowed the vehicle to pass through, following which the ACB officials nabbed them, the official said.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested an engineer, a technician and a clerk of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) and another man in a case of bribery in Thane district, the ACB said on Tuesday.

On August 14, the 34-year-old assistant engineer of the MSEDCL's Kalyan division took away the power meter of a person's flat in Ambernath area on suspicion of tampering, Thane ACB inspector Hanmant Kshirsagar said in a release.

After checking the electricity meter on August 28, the engineer told the person there was a power theft for the last three years and that he would be required to pay an amount of Rs 3 to 4 lakh, including the power consumption charges and penalty, PTI reported.

The engineer also told the person that he could reduce the bill amount to Rs 1 lakh for which he allegedly sought a bribe of Rs 75,000 and later brought down the demand to Rs 70,000, the official said.

The person did not want to pay the bribe and lodged a complaint with the ACB's Thane unit, he said.

The ACB sleuths laid a trap on Monday and nabbed a 35-year-old man while he allegedly accepted the bribe amount of Rs 70,000 on behalf of the engineer from the complainant near a temple on Kalyan-Badlapur road in Ambernath, the official said.

The engineer as well as a junior clerk and a principal technician of the MSEDCL allegedly involved in the crime were also subsequently arrested, he said.

A case was registered against the four accused at Ambernath police station under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he added.

(with PTI inputs)