BRC, sub-engineer booked for accepting Rs 5K bribe

Barwani: Indore lokayukta police on Wednesday caught a block resource coordinator (BRC) red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 for issuing completion certificate against redevelopment of a girls' toilet at a govt school in Niwali tehsil of Barwani district.Lokayukta SP Rajesh Sahay told TOI that the accused, Mahendra Singh Rathore, posted as BRC at Niwali janpad shiksha kendra and Ashwin Dagar, sub-engineer associated with janpad shiksha kendra, have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.He said that the action followed a complaint lodged by Govt Primary School, Khatri Faliya-Pipaldhar, in-charge headmaster Jitendra Soni. In his complaint, Soni stated that Rs 20,000 was sanctioned for the redevelopment of a girls' toilet in the school. However, due to technical issues, the amount could not be withdrawn, and he completed the work using his own funds, he added. When he approached the officials concerned to get the completion certificate, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 5000 as a bribe. After verification, the lokayukta team found the complaint to be genuine and laid a trap.On Wednesday, Rathore called the complainant nearby a SBI ATM kiosk located in Rajpur. As soon as he accepted the bribe amount, the lokayukta team already stationed nearby, caught him red-handed, Sahay said.