Maha: ACB arrests forester in bribe case

Nagpur: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday said it has arrested a Maharashtra forest department official for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a person who is an accused in a case.

An Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) was also booked by the ACB in the bribery case as a co-accused, but he is on the run, an officer of the Nagpur unit of the anti-graft agency said.

The arrested official was identified by the ACB as Nishad Ali Hasan Ali Babinwale (53), posted with the Ramtek Forest Range in Nagpur district, while ACF Sandip Giri (52) is the co-accused.

The ACB officer said the complainant in the bribery case is a labourer.

An offence was registered against the complainant and four others at Salai in Nagpur district under the Indian Forest Act. Three vehicles of the accused were seized by forest department officials in this case, he said.

The accused duo allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh from the complainant to provide him a copy of the FIR and also scale down charges against him, the ACB officer said.

The complainant approached the ACB, which laid a trap and arrested forester Babinwale while accepting the bribe amount, he added.

An offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at the Deolapar police station.