ACB nabs two Panchayat Raj officials taking bribe in Karimnagar

Assistant Engineer Sharath and Senior Assistant Venugopal were caught red-handed while receiving a bribe of Rs. 8,000 from a private car owner.

Karimnagar: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths on Tuesday trapped two officials from the Vigilance and Quality Control wing of the Panchayat Raj department allegedly caught while accepting a bribe.

Assistant Engineer Sharath and Senior Assistant Venugopal were caught red-handed while receiving a bribe of Rs. 8,000 from a private car owner.

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According to ACB officials, the complainant had taken his car on hire to the Panchayat Raj department over the past few years at a monthly rent of Rs. 30,000. While bills for eight months were pending, payment for four months was cleared recently.

To process the remaining dues amounting to Rs.1.80 lakh, the Assistant Engineer allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs. 8,000. Following this, the car owner approached the ACB, who laid a trap and apprehended Venugopal while accepting the bribe.

Upon questioning, Venugopal confessed that he was collecting the bribe on the instructions of Sharath. Following this, ACB officials also arrested Sharath.