ACB arrests IAS officer, his deputy for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 12 lakh in Maharashtra

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) at Palghar in Maharashtra arrested an IAS officer and his deputy for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 12 lakh.

The ACB said Milind B Gawade (54), an IAS officer currently working as Additional Tribal Commissioner, had demanded bribe from 12 employees of state-run ashram shalas (residential schools for tribal children).

The employees had been recently promoted as superintendents, and Gawade allegedly threatened to demote them if they did not pay him Rs one lakh each, the ACB said.

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After receiving a complaint, the investigative body laid a trap and caught deputy tribal commissioner Kiran Sukhlal Mali (39) red-handed on Saturday while he was accepting money on Gawade’s behalf. Both Mali and Gawade were later arrested.