Maha: Two panchayat officials held for taking Rs 20,000 bribe

Two panchayat officials have been arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20,000 in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Friday.

Based on a complaint, officials of the Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested Sudesh Bhaskar (56), a section engineer with the water supply department of Supegaon village panchayat, and gram sevak Jayesh Thorat (49), inspector Swapnil Juikar said. The complainant's relative had received a contract to carry out repairs at the panchayat office, and the accused demanded Rs 25,000, which was 5 per cent of the bill amount, for the work done by the contractor, he said.

The complainant approached the ACB, following which a trap was laid and Thorat was caught accepting Rs 20,000 on Thursday evening, the official said, adding that a further probe is underway.