Corruption Case Unfolds: Bribery Allegation in Thane Civic Body

An official from the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council in Thane district, Maharashtra, is at the center of a corruption scandal, according to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Mumbai unit of the ACB has registered a case against Vikas Chavan, aged 52, for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs 1.34 lakh from a contractor.

Chavan, a class-I audit officer, is accused of asking for a six percent cut from the payments he processed for a road construction company. The civic body had awarded the company 77 development projects, approving payments totaling Rs 17.44 lakh and returning a security deposit of Rs 4.99 lakh to them.

The contractor, unsatisfied with the bribery demand, approached the ACB in December last year. Following an investigation, authorities have moved forward with filing charges, signaling a crackdown on corrupt practices within municipal operations.

(With inputs from agencies.)