Gram panchayat’s clerk held for bribe

JODHPUR: Government’s own employees are working against the realisation of government’s dream of Swachh Bharat. The

Anti-Corruption Bureau

(ACB) caught a lower division clerk (LDC) of a gram panchayat here while taking bribe from a villager for releasing the final instalment of toilet construction. He was arrested by the

ACB

, which also recovered money from him.

DCP (ACB) Jagdish Soni said that the ACB had received a complaint from one Kumbharam of Khudiyala gram panchayat under

Balesar

panchayat samiti of Jodhpur, that he had applied for toilet construction in his house.

“He had already been issued two instalments of Rs 17,500 and Rs 43,000 that was deposited directly in his account by the gram panchayat”, said Soni.

When he approached the LDC of the gram panchayat,

Mohanlal Paliwal

, who also holds the charge of gram sewak during the sewak’s absence, demanded Rs 15,000 from Kumbharam for releasing the last instalment of Rs 23,000 for completion of toilet construction.

Kumbharam complained to the ACB against Paliwal and on verification of the complaint, the ACB found it to be true.“On Wednesday, we sent him with the money to the LDC at the Panchayat Bhawan. When Paliwal offered money to the LDC, he took him to a tea stall adjacent to Panchayat Bhawan”, said Soni.

The ACB sleuths, who had been waiting there, caught Paliwal the moment he accepted money from Kumbharam and arrested him.