JAIPUR: Rajasthan ACB on Wednesday unearthed a major bribery racket in JMC-Greater and arrested a contractual employee for taking Rs 9,000 to waive urban development (UD) tax.
The ACB identified the accused as Pankaj Choudhary. According to ACB ASP Narrottam Lal Verma, the accused had demanded the money to remove the complainant’s UD tax to the tune of Rs 3 lakh.
According to Verma, JMC-Greater had roped in private company Sparrow in 2020 whose mandate included surveying and collecting UD taxes.
“The company sends online report to the municipal corporation. The corporation then prepares a demand letter according to which tax is collected,” Verma said.
The ACB said the complainant had alleged that Choudhary had demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 by promising to remove his property from the ambit of the UD tax. The accused threatened to issue a UD tax notice of up to Rs 3 lakh if the bribe was not paid.
The complainant informed the ACB about the matter. The bureau then verified the veracity of the complaint and laid a trap during which Choudhary was apprehended.
According to Verma, while Choudhary was posted as a contractual employee, he carried the identification card issued by the JMC.
The sources in the ACB also told TOI that several of Choudhary’s colleagues had fled from the office when the sleuths arrested the accused from the spot.
