6 forest department personnel, two others arrested by Nashik ACB for accepting Rs 11,500

Nashik: Eight people, including six forest department personnel, were caught by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in Nashik on Tuesday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 11,500 in Yeola city, the officials said.

The accused were trapped at the office of the range forest officer after they allegedly demanded money from a complainant in exchange for granting permission to fell teakwood trees for commercial use. The process of registering a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was underway at Yeola city police station.

According to ACB officials, the complainant had approached the forest office seeking approval but was asked to pay a bribe by multiple personnel, including a forester, forest guards and clerical staff. Unwilling to comply, he lodged a complaint with the ACB.

Acting on the complaint, the ACB laid a trap on Tuesday afternoon. During the operation, a forest guard allegedly accepted Rs 7,000 on behalf of himself and a senior forester, while a senior clerk and another forest guard each accepted Rs 1,000. A forest worker took Rs 1,000 for himself, and two contractual workers accepted Rs 1,500 collectively.

Officials said another forest worker was also arrested for abetting the offence by allegedly pressuring the complainant to pay the bribe to secure the required permission.

The trap was conducted by a team led by inpector Poonam Kedar, assisted by inspector Pratibha Abuj and six constables, under the guidance of ACB Nashik Range superintendent of police Bharat Tangade.