JMC fire officer held on graft charges, second time in six years

JAIPUR: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) arrested JMC's fire officer Chandra Mohan Pareek after a fireman was caught red-handed taking a bribe of Rs 40,000 on behalf of the officer on Monday. The fire officer was demanding the bribe to issue a fire certificate to the owner of a showroom in Jagatpura which had caught fire in May. The ACB complainant needed the certificate to get the claim from the insurance company.The fire officer demanded 2% of the claim amount to issue the certificate.
After trapping the fireman, the fire officer Pareek was also arrested. ACB officials said that the same officer had been caught taking bribe of Rs 2,500 in 2009 also. The ACB had filed chargesheet in a court against him and the case is under trial, despite that he was given field posting at the same place.
According to ACB IG Dinesh MN, the agency's complainant Omprakash Meena owned a textile showroom in Jagatpur which caught fire on May 25. "Pareek asked Meena to approach Brijmohan Meena and give him the bribe. After negotiations, it was agreed that Meena would pay Rs 60,000. Meena approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. We then verified the complaint and it was found genuine," said the officer.
The officer added that after further negotiation, Brijmohan agreed to accept Rs 40,000. "The fireman asked Meena to come to a hospital in Malviya Nagar. When the fireman accepted the bribe, an ACB team caught him red-handed and arrested him," said the officer.
The officer said that the fireman confessed during interrogation that he took the bribe on behalf of the fire officer following which Pareek was also arrested.
The ACB teams carried out searches at the offices and other places belonging to the duo. Both were booked under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act," said the officer.
The officer added that Pareek had been arrested in 2009 while taking bribe to issue a FIR non-objection certificate (NOC).