A 46-year-old clerk of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) was arrested on Thursday for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a man over property matters. The suspect was identified as Pravin Sartape, a clerk at the TMC's Lokmanya-Savarkar Nagar ward in Vartak Nagar.
Quoting the complainant, Thane Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) said the aggrieved had recently purchased a house and made an application for getting the property transferred in his name. To complete the legal formality, Sartape asked for Rs 5,000.
Subsequently, the man approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. “We laid a trap on Thursday at around 12.20 pm at TMC's Lokmanya -Savarkar Nagar ward. Sartape was caught red-handed while accepting a Rs 5,000 bribe. A case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him at the Vartak Nagar police station,” said ACB additional superintendent Anil Gheridker.
