Vadodara: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Gujarat has nabbed a Circle Officer (Deputy Mamlatdar) in a bribery case involving a sum of Rs. 15,000.

A complaint has been filed against Ketankumar Hasmukhalal Shah, a Circle Officer (Deputy Mamlatdar) in Vadodara. He resides at 72/C, Parichay Park Society, Waghodia Road. According to the complaint, the plaintiff, in this case, obtained a home loan of Rs. 16,50,000 from SBI (State Bank of India) in the year 2016. However, he was unable to pay back loan instalments during the lockdown period in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Consequently, SBI filed Case No. EC/secu.order/Case No. 164-2021/2022 in the Court of the Collector of Vadodara District. As the case progressed, the Collector of Vadodara issued an order to the Mamlatdar of Vadodara City (East) to seize or seal the complainant’s house.

Subsequently, the accused Deputy Mamlatdar took possession of the house and notified the plaintiff that the house would be handed over to SBI. The plaintiff submitted an application to extend the period by two months from the date mentioned in the notice, but the application was rejected. The plaintiff made repeated pleas, and eventually, his request was accepted. However, the accused demanded a bribe of Rs. 25,000 to extend the term, but eventually agreed to accept Rs. 15,000 by the end of the month.

Since the plaintiffs did not want to pay the bribe, they contacted ACB. Based on their complaint, the accused was apprehended during a trap operation while accepting the bribe of Rs. 15,000. DeshGujarat