Lockdown sees significant drop in ACB trap cases in M'rashtra

Mumbai, May 15 () The coronavirus-induced lockdown,which has severely affected functioning of government and semi-government departments, has led to a significant drop incases of bribe in Maharashtra, reflected in low number oftraps set up by the ACB in the last one-and-a-half months.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Maharashtra,registered just seven cases of trap in April and only five inthe current month (till May 14) at its various units, anofficial said.

Trap means nabbing a public servant for demanding andaccepting illegal gratification like bribe. To preventcorruption, a trap is laid by anti-graft agencies to apprehendpublic servants (and their private collaborators) whiledemanding and accepting bribe.

Last year in April, there were 58 bribe cases in which77 accused persons were involved, whereas in May there were 32such cases involving 41 accused, he said.

As compared to those two months in 2019, the drop inApril 2020 was 88 per cent and in May around 84 per cent tilldate.

The coronavirus-triggered lockdown came into force inMaharashtra in end-March.

Since January this year, the ACB has laid 211 trapsacross the state in which more than 290 government officialsand private persons were nabbed, the official said.

Last year, there were 326 such cases in the state inwhich around 430 persons were apprehended, he said.

Overall drop in these cases since January was morethan 35 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, he said.

There was only one trap case at Vadgaon in Pune, whichrelated to the lockdown.

A 31-year-old Assistant Police Inspector, SatyajitAdhatrao, posted with the state highway police, was caughtwhile allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 15,000 from two personson April 30 at Urse Toll Plaza to release their vehicles, hesaid.

The officer had intercepted two vehicles during thelockdown and demanded bribe to release them, he said.

As migrant workers move out of Maharashtra in privateand hired vehicles in large numbers, the highway police haswarned its staffers against collecting any money from them.

According to an order, if any official is foundcollecting money from these vehicle operators, he or she willbe dismissed from service. DCRSY RSY