14 March,2026 03:06 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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The Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested a woman official from the Scheduled Tribes certificate scrutiny committee for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from a man to clear files of his family members in Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.
The ACB caught Meenakshi N Unhale (46), the deputy director (Research) of the committee's Konkan Division (Class 1 officer), accepting a bribe from the complainant at her office in the Charai area in Thane on Friday, the official said, reported PTI.
The Scheduled Tribes Certificate Scrutiny Committee (STCSC) verifies the genuineness of Scheduled Tribe certificates.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (ACB, Raigad-Alibag) Sarita Bhosale stated that Unhale had allegedly demanded Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant to clear the caste verification files of his wife and daughter. Unwilling to pay the sum, he approached the ACB, reported PTI.
The ACB's Raigad unit laid a trap and caught Unhale red-handed in her cabin while accepting the amount, she said.
A case has been registered against the accused officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a probe is underway, the official said.
In another case, two police personnel were caught allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from the owner of a tipper truck transporting sand in Maharashtra's Jalna district, the Anti-Corruption Bureau said on Friday, reported PTI.
Inspector Manoj Kumar Rathod (50) and constable Ravi Jadhav (38), both attached to the Mantha police station, allegedly demanded a bribe from the complainant involved in transporting sand, ACB Inspector Santosh Tigote said, reported PTI.
The duo allegedly demanded a monthly bribe of Rs 50,000 to avoid taking action against the tipper vehicle, and Jadhav had accepted Rs 10,000 from the complainant earlier, he said.
Unwilling to pay the remaining bribe amount, the tipper truck owner lodged a complaint with the ACB unit in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the official said.
He further stated that Inspector Rathod allegedly encouraged the complainant to pay the bribe and suggested that if he helped the police seize two vehicles involved in illegal sand transportation, he would receive a concession in the monthly payment, reported PTI.
"We laid a trap at Mantha police station, where constable Jadhav was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe in the presence of panch witnesses," he said.
The ACB team recovered Rs 30,000 from Jadhav during a search along with a mobile phone, which has been seized for analysis, the official added.
(With inputs from PTI)
