Jalna SDO held for taking Rs 3 lakh bribe

AURANGABAD: Jalna’s sub-divisional officer (SDO), Sunita Chaudhar-Palwe, posted in Ambad was on Friday caught by in Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials for taking Rs 3 lakh as bribe from a sand miner.
ACB officials said Rs 2.5 lakh of the bribe amount was in demonetised notes and Rs 50,000 in new currency. Palwe had allegedly sought the bribe to release eight trucks belonging to the sand miner and not take any action against the offender.The ACB officials also arrested one Shriram Babasaheb Nagre through whom the official had accepted the bribe.
ACB deputy superintendent Vivek Saraf said the complainant had obtained a contract for lifting sand in the Ghansavangi area on November 18. Accordingly, he pressed his eight vehicles into service to sell sand.
On November 22, Palwe was on a routine patrol when she seized two vehicles transporting sand between Hatgoan and Wadigodri. She later seized six more vehicles from the area and brought those to the Ambad tehsil office.
Subsequently, she allegedly asked the miner to pay Rs 8 lakh for releasing the trucks. Following this, the contractor approached the Aurangabad ACB.
The ACB found that Palwe had sought Rs 8 lakh and after a bargain, she agreed to release the truck against Rs 6 lakh. She also asked the complainant to pay Rs 3 lakh through Nagre on Friday near Malhar Chinese Hotel in Ambad around 8 pm.
The ACB personnel laid a trap around the hotel and as soon as Nagre collected the bribe money on the SDO’s behalf, the ACB officials arrested him. “Palwe (44) was arrested from her Ambad house,” said Saraf.