Man held for offering Rs 3 lakh bribe to forest officer

A 47-year-old man was arrested in Palghar district of Maharashtra for allegedly offering Rs 3 lakh bribe to a forest officer to not take action against him in an illegal construction case, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said.

The accused, Dighambar Jethe, along with some other people allegedly carried out an unauthorised construction on a forest land in Vikramgadh taluka, ACB's deputy superintendent of police Ajay Aphale said.

The forest department initiated criminal proceedings against Jethe and others in this connection, he said.

Jethe then allegedly offered Rs 3 lakh to the forest officer concerned to go soft on him, Aphale said.

The forest officer subsequently lodged a complaint with the ACB, he said.

The anti-graft agency laid a trap and nabbed Jethe on Wednesday while he was offering bribe to the forest officer at his office in Vikramgadh, Aphale said.

The accused was booked under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he added.