Nanded: Residents of Dharmabad taluka have expressed concern that repeated bribery cases involving senior government officials from the area are damaging the reputation of their villages despite the achievements of many young candidates from the Scheduled Tribe community who have entered government service through competitive examinations.
Locals said several youths from Jarikot and neighbouring villages now hold senior positions in various government departments. However, the arrests of two officers in separate bribery cases over the past four years have overshadowed these accomplishments.
Four years ago, revenue department officer Anil Ramod, a native of Jarikot-Saikot village, was arrested in an alleged Rs8 lakh bribery case. More recently, Divisional Forest Officer Srinivas Lakhamwad, a resident of Ratnali village in Dharmabad taluka, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Beed in connection with an alleged Rs45 lakh bribery case.
Following Lakhamwad’s arrest on Friday, Anti-Corruption Bureau officials conducted a search at his parental home in Dharmabad taluka.
Residents said the incidents have brought negative attention to the region, even though many youngsters from the area have built successful careers through merit and hard work.
Lakhamwad completed his schooling in Nanded. His father, a retired manager with the Bank of Maharashtra, lives with the family in Nanded. According to relatives, the family has been left shocked by the allegations and the arrest.
