The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Bhainsa Municipality’s in-charge municipal commissioner, Jadhav Santhosh, on Tuesday after allegedly catching him accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 to release a contractor’s pending payment for civil works in Nirmal district, Telangana.
Santhosh, who also serves as a Deputy Executive Engineer, allegedly demanded the money in return for issuing a cheque against a contractor’s outstanding bill of Rs 2,63,128, according to the ACB. The officer was arrested following a complaint by the contractor, and the case is under investigation.
The ACB said its officials from the Adilabad range caught Santhosh while he was accepting the alleged bribe. The tainted amount was recovered from the dashboard of his car, the agency said. Chemical tests conducted on swabs taken from the dashboard returned positive results, according to the ACB.
The agency’s account also refers to an earlier alleged payment involving the same contractor. Santhosh allegedly accepted Rs 10,000 on October 26 and subsequently released a cheque for Rs 6.40 lakh. He then allegedly demanded a further Rs 50,000 to clear the remaining payment of Rs 2,63,128.
The case highlights the role of municipal officials in processing payments for civic works, where delays in bill clearance can affect contractors responsible for executing local infrastructure and maintenance projects. In this case, the alleged demand was connected to the release of a cheque for work already carried out in the municipality, according to the ACB’s account reported by Deccan Chronicle.
Santhosh was being produced before the Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases in Karimnagar for judicial remand. The arrest and allegations are part of the investigation, and the court process will determine the next steps in the case.
The ACB investigation is continuing. Further proceedings will take place before the Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases in Karimnagar.
