Palghar sub-divisional magistrate, deputy tehsildar arrested for taking Rs50L bribe

A sub-divisional magistrate of Palghar, his driver and deputy tehsildar were on Thursday arrested for allegedly accepting Rs50 lakh bribe -- Rs3 lakh in demonetised Rs1,000 and Rs500 notes and the rest Rs47 lakh in fake currency. The trio has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and will be produced before the Palghar court on Friday.

A sub-divisional magistrate of Palghar, his driver and deputy tehsildar were on Thursday arrested for allegedly accepting Rs50 lakh bribe -- Rs3 lakh in demonetised Rs1,000 and Rs500 notes and the rest Rs47 lakh in fake currency. The trio has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and will be produced before the Palghar court on Friday.

Sub-divisional magistrate of Palghar, Shivaji Davbhat (HT)

The magistrate, Shivaji Davbhat, 46, deputy tehsildar Satish Manivade, 57, and Jayesh Patil, 25, allegedly demanded the bribe from a landowner in Palghar. The complainant’s 60-year-old ancestral property was stuck in legal dispute and Davbhat agreed to give a favourable verdict if he got Rs50 lakh, said Ajay Aphale, deputy superintendent of police, ACB Palghar.

“The complainant said it would be difficult to arrange Rs 50 lakh in new currency, but Davbhat agreed to accept the cash in old notes,” said Aphale. “We verified the complaint thrice and laid a trap on Thursday and arrested the trio from Davbhat’s office. We had mixed the notes with fake currency.”

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