A Maharashtra official has been arrested in Thane for allegedly demanding a bribe to expedite the clearance of caste certificates, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat corruption in government processes.
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.
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.
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.
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.