Mathura DUDA project manager jailed on corruption charges

A project manager of District Urban Development Authority (DUDA), who was suspended over corruption charges, was arrested and sent to jail after being produced in a court, police said here on Thursday.

Accused Ramesh Kaushik was arrested from Haryana’s Rohtak on Wednesday and produced in the Anti-Corruption Court in Meerut, they said.

The District Magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal on July 9 had ordered to register a case against Kaushik in the Sadar police station under the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.

Kaushik was suspended on charges of corruption, abusing and issuing threats to the complainant, they said.

Complainant Mahavir Pratap Singh, an employee of a manufacturing company, in his complaint to the district magistrate alleged that Kaushik demanded a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh in lieu of release of Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) of the security money deposited in connection with the company's work.

He said Kaushik had also demanded Rs 5 lakh for other development works done by the company in some other areas, according to the police.

Singh had claimed that he had given Rs 50,000 in cash as advance to the accused but still he did not release the FDR, they said.

When Singh, who had recorded all transaction related conversations, asked Kaushik to release the FDR after playing the recording, he allegedly used abusive language and threatened to kill the complainant.

The district magistrate had asked the Superintendent of Police (City) Abhishek Tiwari to investigate the case and Kaushik was found prima facie guilty of the charges levelled against him, police said.