Gandhinagar, Oct 31 — A 22-year-old outsourced livestock inspector with the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation was allegedly caught accepting a Rs 22,000 bribe from a cattle-rearing businessman in an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) trap on Friday.
The accused, Jaydeepsinh Rajput, was working as a Livestock Inspector (Class III) in the civic body's Cattle Nuisance Control Department (CNCD), where he was part of the team responsible for catching stray cattle.
He was employed through an outsourcing agency. According to the ACB, Rajput initially demanded Rs 40,000 from the complainant, a cattle-rearing businessman, allegedly to avoid catching his cattle and registering a case against him.
"The amount was also sought as an instalment for the Diwali festival," the ACB said.
Following negotiations, the accused reduced the demand to Rs 22,000. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Gandhinagar ACB and lodged a complaint, following which officials arranged a trap.
The trap was laid on October 30 near the road behind a garden in Sector 28 of Gandhinagar. During the operation, Rajput allegedly held a conversation with the complainant before accepting Rs 22,000.
The ACB team caught him while accepting the money and recovered the entire amount. The ACB recorded the bribe amount demanded, accepted and recovered as Rs 22,000. "The trap was conducted by M M Solanki, Police Inspector at the Gandhinagar ACB Police Station," officials said.
A similar incident involving the civic body's cattle-catching team was reported in August 2022, when the ACB caught two outsourced employees, an animal catcher and a driver, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a cattle rearer.
The duo, Manoj alias Bablu Shanaji Thakor and Bunty Jayantibhai Waghela, had allegedly demanded the money in exchange for not catching the complainant's stray cattle.
The amount was reportedly negotiated at Rs 15,000, calculated at Rs 5,000 each for five persons. The ACB registered a case against the two under the Prevention of Corruption Act.