ACB arrests junior lineman in Rs 70,000 bribe case in Palnadu

Vijayawada: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Guntur caught a junior lineman (JLM) working at APCPDCL when he demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 70,000 for processing an application to erect an electric transformer and lay power cables on agricultural land in Chejerla village of Palnadu district. The ACB police arrested the accused Nakkanaboina Nagendra Babu and his son for their involvement.According to the complainant, Gundala Yohanu, a resident of Chejerla, submitted an online application to the Chejerla AE office to erect an electric transformer and lay an electric line to agricultural land belonging to his mother and aunt in his village. Subsequently, the Chejerla AE deputed the accused junior lineman to conduct a field inspection and submit a field inspection report along with a rough sketch of the land, after which the application would be processed.
Subsequently, the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 80,000 from the complainant at the Chejerla AE office for processing the application. The accused later reduced the bribe amount to Rs 70,000. Unwilling to pay the demanded bribe amount, the complainant lodged a complaint with Guntur ACB. Accordingly, the ACB sleuths caught the accused red-handed when he demanded and accepted the bribe near the grama sachivalayam of Chejerla. The case was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption (amended in 2018) Act, 1988.The arrested were produced before the Vijayawada ACB magistrate, and searches are underway at the accused's residence and office premises.