Two Forest dept officials held for graft

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) trapped a senior Indian Forest Service officer while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) trapped a senior Indian Forest Service officer while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.

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The CBI said its Anti-Corruption Bureau team arrested Birendra Choudhary, deputy conservator of forest, and Dharmesh Desai, engineer and junior research fellow of Forest Department, Wild Life Silvassa.

CBI said the complainant had bought a plot and wanted an no-objection certificate stating that the house he was to build wasn’t within 100m of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Wildlife Sanctuary.

He approached Choudhary who asked him for Rs 5,000. The duo settled for Rs 3,000, a CBI official said. The complainant approached the CBI on November 19. Rishiraj Singh, joint director CBI, zone I, said they recorded a conversation between Choudhary and Desai discussing receipt of the money. They then laid a trap and arrested them.