Pune: ACB Nabs Deputy Director of Horticulture Department for Accepting Rs 2.5 Lakh Bribe
Pune :
In a significant action, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) caught the Deputy Director of the Horticulture Department red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh for not filing an FIR against the individual regarding irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). Further, when the car of the accused officer was checked, police found cash worth Rs 2 lakh 15 thousand in it.
The name of the arrested officer is Sanjay Mahadu Gunjal, and he is a Deputy Director, Horticulture 4, and In-charge Joint Director of the Horticulture Department in the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Shivajinagar.
The detailed information in this regard is that the plaintiff in this case was working as a junior clerk in the Taluka Agriculture Officer’s Office at Jalgaon Jamod in the Buldhana district in 2019-20. However, due to irregularities by him in the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for Micro Irrigation (Drip) while he was working as a junior clerk, the Joint Director of Agriculture, Amravati Division, suspended him from service on December 17, 2024, following a detailed inquiry regarding it.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of the Agriculture Commissionerate, Sanjay Gunjal, had demanded a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from the complainant to assist him in his suspension proceedings and not to investigate and file an FIR in accordance with the allegations made against him.
When the ACB received a complaint in this regard, the police officers verified the complaint and started an investigation into it. In the end, in a compromise, Gunjal agreed to accept a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh as a settlement. After that, on Friday, the ACB laid a trap on the road in front of the office of Khurana Private Travel in Sangamwadi and detained Gunjal while accepting Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant.
A case has been registered against Sanjay Gunjal at the Yerawada Police Station in this regard. This action has been taken under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Shirish Sardeshpande and Additional Superintendent of Police Vijay Pawar.
