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Gujarat officials offer EMI option on bribes to ‘reduce burden’ on victims: Report
As per a report, Gujarat officials are now offering bribe payments with an EMI option to “reduce the burden” on victims of corruptions.
In an effort to be “considerate” towards the troubled citizens, government officials in Gujarat are now offering an EMI option for the payment of bribes, reported The Times of India.
This is now a common practice among dishonest government officials “with a heart” in Gujarat, who have taken inspiration from banking systems to extract bribes from people without a strong economic status.
Gujarat officials are now demanding bribes, offering a monthly payment and lumpsum option to reduce the financial strain on the citizens, the TOI reported.
Earlier this year, a person was asked to pay a bribe of ₹21 lakh in an SGST bogus billing scam. However, he was offered an EMI option equated to ₹2 lakh per month for nine months in case a lumpsum option was too burdensome. In a similar bribery case, a police official in the cybercrime unit demanded a bribe of ₹10 lakh, but in four installments, the report said.
Read more: Row in Kerala over liquor policy mirrors 2015 bar bribery scandal
A deputy sarpanch and a taluka panchayat member in Surat seemingly got inspired by the EMI bribery system gaining popularity among higher authorities. On April 4, they allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹85,000 from a villager for getting a farm levelled. Since the financial condition of the villager was not strong, the accused officials decided to be ‘considerate’ and offered him an EMI option - ₹35,000 down payment and the rest broken into three installments.
More recently, two cops fled with ₹4 lakh bribe they had demanded from a resident of Sabarkantha district. This was just the first installment of the ₹10 lakh bribe they had demanded from the victim, reported TOI.
Read more: Panchkula ACB arrests 2 officials in ₹1 lakh bribe case
While speaking to TOI, a senior official from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Gujarat said that this practice is gaining popularity and is currently on the rise.
Ten such cases have come forward this year alone, the officer said. The official said, “A person unable to afford to buy a house, car or a valuable by making full payments avails a loan or an EMI. Corrupt officials are applying the same practice to bribes now.”
