Municipal officer caught taking Rs 10,000 bribe

The chief municipal officer (CMO) of Lanji Municipality was caught by Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta police today for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a contractor, an official said.
The accused, Shivlal Jharia, was caught red-handed from his residence while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the contractor in exchange of approving the bill of a construction work worth Rs 3.11 Lakh, Deputy Superintendent (DSP) of Lokayukta Police, Santosh Bhadoriya said.
The contractor had complained that Jharia was dilly-dallying in approving the bill and demanded Rs 25,000 bribe from him.
"However, it was settled between them that Rs 10,000 would be handed to him as the first instalment," he said.

Based on the contractor's complaint, the Lokayukta police laid a trap today and caught Jharia while taking the bribe, Bhadoriya said adding that a case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.