Maha: Former MSEDCL official sentenced to imprisonment in graft case

A special court on Thursday sentenced a former employee of a state-run power company and a private individual to imprisonment in a case of graft in Vasai of Maharashtra's Palghar district. District judge Sudhir Deshpande convicted Ashish Thote (51), a former junior engineer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), and one Sakharam Chandusingh Pawar (65) of charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Thote was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment and a collective fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him, while Pawar was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and was fined Rs 5,000.

Additional public prosecutor Jaiprakash Patil informed the court that the complainant had submitted 60 quotations to the MSEDCL for installation of electric meters, which was to be cleared by the accused official, who demanded Rs 40,000 to do the job.

Officials from the Anti-Corruption Bureau laid a trap on September 14, 2011 when the accused accepted the bribe amount through Pawar, following which the duo was arrested.

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