ACB books SMC engineer, ‘journalist’ for 21L bribe

Surat: The Surat zonal unit of the anti-corruption unit (ACB) on Friday booked Vipul Ganeshwala, who serves as executive engineer (Class I) of the Limbayat zone of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 21 lakh from a businessman. The businessman then contacted the ACB, who laid a trap. The businessman had been directed to pay one tranche of the bribe at the office of Ismail Pathan alias Parwana, a history-sheeter, in the Shantinagar area. Pathan runs a newspaper called Nishaksha Gujarat. The businessman went there and handed over Rs 4 lakh to Pathan. Sensing something amiss, Pathan fled with the Rs 4 lakh, on the complainant's moped. ACB booked both Pathan and Ganeshwala and began a search for them. According to case details, the complainant owns a plot in Santosh Sub-Industrial plotting scheme in Limbayat. He got a notice from an SMC official on Nov 10, regarding a prohibition order for construction on the said plots. On Feb 13, a notice was posted at the construction site and demolition began, with Rs 1,70,000 collected as demolition charges.Meanwhile, the demolition was halted at the instruction of Ganeshwala. He allegedly sent Pathan to the complainant, who met him several times, demanding Rs 21 lakh on behalf of Ganeshwala, to stop the demolition. After negotiations, Rs 15 lakh was agreed on, with Rs 4 lakh to be paid on Thursday and the remaining Rs 11 lakh by Monday.Pathan called the businessman to his office on Thursday night and allegedly accepted Rs 4 lakh after talking to Ganeshwala on the phone. However, sensing the ACB trap, he fled with the cash."Pathan sensed a trap had been laid and asked the complainant for his moped keys. He then fled with the bribe money. Pathan, who claims to be a journalist, is a history-sheeter with cases registered against him in Limbayat and Puna. The Surat police commissioner had also jailed him under PASA in 2024," an ACB official said.A case was registered against Ganeshwala and Pathan under the Prevention of Corruption Act with Surat ACB police station on Friday.