Jaipur, Oct 12 — The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested a Grade-I clerk (reader) and a home guard driver attached to courts in Banswara for alleged involvement in a Rs 40,000 bribery case, an official statement said.
According to the ACB statement, the bureau’s Banswara unit caught Rahul Chandel, a home guard driver attached to the Additional Judicial Magistrate, red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 40,000 from the complainant and a co-complainant on behalf of the main accused,
Sandeep Kumar Nanavati, a Grade-I clerk and reader to the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Banswara. Nanavati was also arrested for his alleged role in the case.
ACB Director General Govind Gupta said the bureau received a complaint alleging that Nanavati, through Chandel, had demanded a bribe in exchange for ensuring that the complainant’s bail was not cancelled, preventing conviction in a pending court case, and providing further assistance in the matter.
The ACB verified the bribe demand on October 11 by the complainant and the co-complainant.
During verification, investigators also found that the accused had allegedly demanded and accepted Rs 2,000 from the complainant earlier under the pretext of incidental expenses, commonly referred to as “kharche-pani”.
Following the verification, the Banswara ACB team conducted a trap operation on Monday under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police Ratan Singh Rajpurohit and the supervision of Piyush Dixit, Superintendent of Police, ACB Udaipur Range.
During the operation, Chandel was apprehended while allegedly accepting a Rs 40,000 bribe on Nanavati’s behalf. Nanavati was subsequently arrested for his alleged involvement in the bribery demand.
Further interrogation and legal proceedings are underway under the supervision of ACB Additional Director General Smita Srivastava and Inspector General S. Parimala. The bureau is also conducting searches at the residences of both accused.
A case will be registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further investigation will follow, the statement said.
The ACB also advised people not to fall victim to fraudsters who exploit the fear of anti-corruption investigations. It said that anyone facing an ACB complaint or preliminary inquiry could approach the bureau directly to present their explanation, adding that investigation-related decisions are taken after examining the response in detail.