3 forest officials from Thane arrested for bribery after trap set in Vashi

A day after a Class I officer with the forest department from Thane was arrested by Anti-Corruption Bureau in a graft case for accepting a bribe of ₹5.30 lakh from his subordinate, three more forest officials from Thane have been booked in another bribery case; the trap was laid in Vashi

A day after a Class I officer with the forest department from Thane was arrested by Anti-Corruption Bureau in a graft case for accepting a bribe of ₹5.30 lakh from his subordinate, three more forest officials from Thane have been booked in another bribery case.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau lays trap in Vashi, where two of the three accused forest officials from Thane came to collect a part of the bribery amount from the complainant. (HT FILE)

The three arrested on Tuesday, have been identified as Sanjay Manohar Pawar (55), a forester from Thane range and forest guards, Deepak Prakash Verma (35) and Amit Mohan Rane (39) from Thane range.

The complainant, a supervisor at a construction site in Vashi who was looking after demolition at plot No. 18 sector 19D in Vashi, was told by the forest officials that it was an Eco Sensitive Zone. The accused told the supervisor that the site was just 10km from Thane Creek Flamingo National Sanctuary Boundary and a notice was issued to them stating that permission for the work had not been sought from the National Wildlife Board at Thane and the Forest Department.

Following the notice, the trio had demanded a bribe of ₹5 lakh from the complainant for not taking action on him. Of the ₹5 lakh demanded, ₹3.5 lakh was being received by Pawar when the ACB laid a trap and nabbed them, said superintendent of police, Panjabrao Ugale, ACB, Thane range.

The complainant had also alleged that apart from the said amount, he was also asked to pay ₹25,000 per month for the next six months. The trap was laid at Sector 17, Vashi, wherein Pawar and Verma, came in a car and accepted a bribe of ₹3.5 lakh from the complainant. “The trio has been remanded to police custody till October 16,” Ugale said.