Jaipur, September 11 (Kiran News): In a major crackdown on institutional corruption, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Bharatpur unit on Thursday arrested five officials and employees of Dholpur Municipal Council while accepting a bribe of ?3.10 lakh.
Additional Director General of Police, ACB, Smita Srivastava said the operation exposed deep-rooted corruption within the council. Those arrested include Assistant Engineer (Civil) Priya Jha, Senior Assistant Neeraj Sharma, Senior Assistant and Cashier Bharat Parmar (caught with ?50,000), Fire Department driver Devendra Kumar Sharma (involved with Neeraj Sharma in demanding and receiving ?2 lakh on behalf of the Commissioner), and contractual worker Harendra Gurjar (caught with ?60,000 on Priya Jha’s instructions).
The bribe was being collected in exchange for releasing a payment cheque related to drainage work carried out by the complainant’s wife, a government contractor.
Commissioner Under Suspicion
The role of Municipal Commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma has also come under suspicion. He has been detained for questioning.
Strategic Trap Operation
After verifying the complaint, the ACB laid out a trap under the supervision of Bharatpur Additional SP Amit Singh. The accused were caught red-handed at the Dholpur Municipal Council office while accepting the bribe from the complainant.
Institutional Corruption Exposed
According to ACB, the investigation revealed that corruption is institutionalised within the Dholpur Municipal Council, with employees at almost every level found involved in bribery through mutual collusion.
