Maha: Forest official held in Palghar for bribery

A forest official from Palghar district was arrested on Friday for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe to issue a non-forest land certificate, an official of the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau said.

Himmat Vasant Saple (38), Range Forest Officer in Wada here, had demanded Rs 60,000 from a man to issue a certificate that the latter's land was not part of a forest and therefore the Forest Act did not apply, Deputy Superintendent of Police (ACB- Palghar) Navnath Jagtap told PTI.

Saple was held while accepting Rs 50,000 in a trap laid at his office during the day, the Dy SP added.