MUMBAI: A deputy tehsildar of Bhiwandi division was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), along with two private persons, including a jeweller, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 6 lakh from a farmer whose land had been acquired by the Railways.
The arrest of deputy tehsildar Vithal Gosavi and seizure of 43 farmers’ cheques of different banks—having a value of Rs 2.34 crore—has opened up a Pandora’s box and compelled the Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe a wider angle of corruption where the tehsildar used to take advance cheques (bribes) from the farmers so that when the Railways transfer the compensation for land acquisition, the accused could encash their cheques.
The ACB on Thursday arrested Gosavi (54) at the office of the SDO Bhiwandi, his tout Vijay Bhoir (28) and a jeweller, Laxman Singh Shankar Singh Rajpurohit (52). All the accused were booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and were remanded to police custody. A search of Gosavi’s office resulted in the recovery of Rs 4 lakh. ACB officials said that if he fails to give accountability of the cash, he may be booked in a disproportionate assets case.
According to the ACB, the complainant’s land was acquired by the Railways in a railway expansion project at the Kalyan-Kasara line and he was supposed to get a compensation of Rs 55 lakh from the central government through the SDO office. When he approached the SDO office, Gosavai demanded Rs 8 lakh as his cut. The complainant then lodged a complaint with the ACB.
