Chandrapur, Apr 11 (PTI) Sleuths of Maharashtra’s Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday arrested three persons, including an executive engineer of the rural water supply department at Zilla Parishad in Chandrapur district, in a Rs 4.20 lakh bribery case, the ACB said.

According to an ACB release, a contractor had completed projects in some villages in Jiwti and Rajura tehsils of the district under the Jal Jeevan Mission and submitted bills of Rs 43 lakh for approval to the rural water supply department at Chandrapur Zilla Parishad (ZP).

To clear the bills, an executive engineer in the department, Harsh Bohre, allegedly demanded Rs 4 lakh and asked the contractor to give the amount to his senior assistant Sushil Gundawar, said the anti-graft agency.

Gundawar allegedly sought Rs 20,000 for himself. Hence, a total of Rs 4.20 lakh in bribe was allegedly demanded by the duo, according to the release.

However, the contractor was unwilling to pay the bribe so he filed a complaint against Bohre and Gundawar at the ACB office in Chandrapur.

Accordingly, a trap was laid and the ACB sent the complainant with the bribe money to the ZP office. Gundawar allegedly accepted the bribe amount of Rs 4.20 lakh, of which he kept Rs 20,000 for himself and asked Matin Sheikh, a contractual worker at the department, to give the remaining money to Bohre, said the release.

Later, Sheikh took the bribe amount to Bohre’s house. Afterwards, the ACB arrested the trio on bribery charges and filed a case against them at the Ramnagar police station, it said, adding further investigations was underway. PTI COR RSY