Lokayukta officials have arrested Vijayapura tahsildar Aparna Pawte while she was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh from a land developer Ramesh Bidnur.
Lokayukta SP T.S. Prabhakar told reporters that Mr. Bidnur had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta that Ms. Pawte was demanding Rs. 5 lakh for granting approval for converting agricultural land into non-agricultural (NA) land to develop the site for residential purpose.
He said that Mr. Bidnur wanted five acres near Torvi village of the taluk to get converted to NA, for which he had submitted required documents.
Despite producing the documents on October 22, 2014, the tahsildar was delaying the process without giving any reason, Mr. Prabhakar said.
Later, she first demanded Rs. 5 lakh and then reduced the amount to Rs. 1 lakh. Mr. Bidnur who had not intended to offer any bribe, filed complaint with the Lokayukta that raided the office on Monday when Ms. Pawte was accepting the bribe through a village accountant, Sharanagouda Biradar. “Today, I am happy that one corrupt officer has been exposed by me,” he said. Mr. Prabhakar said that the accused would be remanded to judicial custody and case would continue.
