Civic official held for offering Rs 25 lakh #bribe

Thane, Apr 29 (PTI) A deputy director in Town Planning department of Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) has been arrested for allegedly offering Rs 25 lakh as bribe to a corporator, Anti-Corruption Bureau said today.

Y S Reddy (48), the deputy director in the Town Planning department of VVMC, was caught late last night while he was handing over Rs 25 lakh to the corporator, Police Inspector Anil Honrao of Thane’s Anti-Corruption Bureau said.

He said there were several complaints of alleged irregularities against the official made by a Shiv Sena corporator to police, the civic body and courts.

The accused wanted the corporator to withdraw the complaints against him for which he allegedly offered a bribe of Rs one crore to him.

The aggrieved corporator then lodged a complaint with the Thane unit of ACB.

Subsequently, the ACB laid a trap and caught the accused at a restaurant on Ghodbunder road in Thane city late last night when he was allegedly offering the first instalment of Rs 25 lakh to the corporator.

Reddy had earlier worked with the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) before joining the VVMC.

Offences under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act have been registered against the accused, Honrao said.