The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a sarpanch in Sabarkantha district of the State for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹1.5 lakh from a factory owner, officials said on October 8.
Mukesh Parmar, the sarpanch of Bavsar group village panchayat in Himmatnagar taluka, was caught red-handed on October 7 while allegedly accepting the cash from a factory owner, the ACB said in a release.
The complainant had recently set up a factory on a plot that falls under the jurisdiction of Bavsar group panchayat. Since the approval of the sarpanch is necessary for the construction, the factory owner had requested Mr. Parmar to give his written clearance a few months back so that civil work can be started.
After some negotiations, Mr. Parmar had given his approval a few months back without taking any money at that time and had asked the factory owner to pay the bribe at the earliest, the ACB release said.
But soon, Mr. Parmar started reminding the complainant to pay the pending bribe of ₹1.5 lakh and threatened to give a negative report about the factory to the authorities if his demand was not met.
The factory owner then approached the ACB, which laid a trap at a farm in Bavsar and caught Mr. Parmar red handed while accepting ₹1.5 lakh cash from the complainant, the anti-graft agency said in the release.
