APMC health officer, sanitary inspector arrested for bribery

Two officials attached to the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee have been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1,40,000 to clear a contractor's pending bills.

Police on Tuesday arrested a medical officer and a sanitary inspector attached to the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1,40,000 from a contractor to clear pending bills.

The accused were identified as Dr Deepak Sharad Awte (40), who holds additional charge of Deputy Secretary (Class-I) and serves as Health Officer at Mumbai APMC, and Sameer Mhatre (55), a generator operator holding additional charge as a Class-III Sanitary Officer.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Navi Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau) Dharmaraj Sonke said a case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the APMC police station in Navi Mumbai.

The complainant in the case had been awarded a contract for cleaning blockages and annual maintenance of the Mumbai APMC premises.

''The contract was executed for the period between October and April. The contractor submitted a bill of Rs 11,92,716. Excluding the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the net bill amount came to Rs 9,78,027,'' said DySP Sonke.

''The accused duo demanded a 15 per cent kickback, which came to Rs 1,46,000, to clear the file,'' he added.

Following negotiations, the accused agreed to settle for Rs 1,40,000.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the contractor approached the Navi Mumbai ACB which laid a trap and allegedly caught Mhatre red-handed while accepting currency notes of Rs 1,40,000 from the complainant.

Both Mhatre and Awte were then arrested. Further probe is on, the official said.