Maharashtra official gets three-year jail for accepting bribe

A Maharashtra government official has been sentenced to three years in jail by a special court here for accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 in 2013 on behalf of his senior for extending an official favour to an employee of the Pune civic body.

In his order, pronounced on April 30, the special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court judge S J Biyani convicted Udaysingh Chouhan (48), who was posted as Desk Officer with the Urban Development Department (UDD) in Mumbai under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court, however, acquitted the then UDD deputy secretary Anandrao Jiwane and department clerk Subhash More of the bribery charges under the act.

As per the prosecution, Chouhan had accepted Rs 50,000-bribe from the complainant, Laxman Damse, an employee of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), in October 2013, on the behalf of Jiwane at Mantralaya (state secretariat) in Mumbai.

Damse and others were suspended in 2012 for some irregularities, but were given a clean chit a year later.

The PMC then wrote a letter to the UDD seeking its permission for reinstating them.

Damse subsequently approached Jiwane for issuance of the reinstatement orders, the court was told.

"On September 25, 2013, Damse met Jiwane at his office in Mantralaya, where the latter demanded a bribe Rs 1,00,000. Chouhan was also present there. Later, the amount was negotiated to Rs 75,0000," the prosecution said.

Meanwhile, Damse lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against Jiwane, Chouhan and More.

A trap was laid and Chouhan was arrested when he was accepting Rs 50,000 from Damse, according to prosecution.

A total of 11 witnesses were examined during the course of trial, said Additional Public Prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves.