ACB nabs Jagtial District Transport Officer while taking bribe of Rs.22,000

ACB officials arrested Jagtial District Transport Officer Banothu Badru Naik for accepting a bribe of Rs. 22,000 from a JCB owner. He had earlier demanded Rs. 40,000 for releasing a seized vehicle and two phones. His retirement was due this month

Jagtial: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials caught District Transport Officer (DTO) Banothu Badru Naik red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs. 22,000 from a JCB owner at his office in Jagtial on Wednesday.

According to ACB officials, Badru Naik had illegally seized a JCB belonging to Shashidhar of Korutla on Monday night, citing the absence of a pollution certificate and insurance documents. Though the vehicle could have been released upon payment of a fine, the DTO also confiscated two mobile phones and demanded a bribe of Rs. 40,000 to release both the vehicle and the phones. He later settled for Rs. 35,000.

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The victim initially paid Rs. 12,000 the same night but later approached the ACB. Based on his complaint, officials laid a trap.

On Wednesday, the DTO’s private driver, Banothu Arvind, accepted Rs. 22,000 from Shashidhar on behalf of Badru Naik and was immediately detained. During interrogation, Arvind confessed that he was acting under the instructions of the DTO.

Following his statement, ACB officials arrested Badru Naik. Interestingly, the officer is due to retire on August 31.