FDA officer caught accepting Rs 40,000 bribe

MUMBAI: The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested Pravin Mundhada, assistant commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), red-handed for accepting

MUMBAI: The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested Pravin Mundhada, assistant commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), red-handed for accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000.

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The officer was caught at FDA’s office in Bandra-Kurla complex. “The complainant, a pharmacist, in his plaint said the matter began when, in 2014, FDA’s inspector did not find the registered pharmacist at his medical store during inspection,” said a senior ACB officer.

Subsequently, the inspector submitted a report calling this a violation under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to the assistant commissioner of zone 5. “A show cause notice was issued to the complainant asking him why his license should not be cancelled. The complainant then submitted a written reply,” said the officer.

Mundhada, then, allegedly demanded bribe of Rs40,000 to close the file. The complainant found it fit to approach the ACB. “We verified the bribe allegations following which a trap was laid and Mundhada was caught red-handed,” added the officer.

FDA sources said enquiries have been conducted in the past too against him. “He was punished after two departmental enquiries against him on similar allegations in the past,” said an officer.

The FDA officer will be produced in court on Thursday while the bureau is trying to find if the accused has amassed any disproportionate wealth or not.