Thane district supply office clerk held for taking Rs 2,500 bribe from rice mill representative

The Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested a 50-year-old clerk with the Thane district supply office in Maharashtra for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2,500 from a rice mill representative, ACB officials said on Wednesday.

The complainant was involved in the work of polishing rice received from different sources and then supplying it to designated distributors, the ACB said in a release.

Prior to delivery of the processed rice, its inspection was conducted by officials of the district supply office. The accused, identified as Santosh Pradhan, was also among those who carried out inspection of the processed rice, it said. The accused allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from the rice mill representative for the certification that the processed rice was fit to be delivered to godowns, the release said.

The rice mill representative lodged a complaint with the ACB’s Thane unit which laid a trap on Tuesday at the district supply office located in the collectorate premises and caught the accused accepting Rs 2,500 as part of the bribe, the anti-graft agency said. A offence has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act at Thane Nagar police station, the ACB added.