This big corruption crack-down in Katni Municipal Corporation mandi Madhya Pradesh, has led to the arrest of an Upper Division Clerk (UDC) Alok Garg by a team of the Katni Lokayukta on the charge of taking a bribe of ₹20,000. The money was reportedly demanded to be disbursed for the issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) which was to be used to take a bank loan for a plot in Transport Nagar.
Details of the Case
The case involves a piece of land of 2,000-square-foot in Transport Nagar with number 137, belonging to Ashok Kanakne himself, the complaint alleged. He had taken a loan from the Bank of Baroda for carrying on construction work on the property. During the loan application, the Bank directed him to acquire an NOC from the municipal corporation.
On reaching out to the corporation for the document, Kanakne allegedly was asked to pay ₹25,000 to get it. After some negotiations, this amount was reduced to ₹20,000, the complainant said in the letter.
On 21 October, Kanakne lodged a complaint against this alleged demand with the Lokayukta forums in Jabalpur; the Lokayukta office is under a different departmentant from the SPL. Officials confirmed the complaint and arranged a trap to be carried out.
Lokayukta Team Carries Out Trap Operation
The operation was conducted by Deputy Superintendent of Police Rekha Prajapati-led 8-member Lokayukta team at the Katni Municipal Corporation premises. This is, according to the police, when Garg was caught red-handed and was accepting ₹20,000.
DSP Prajapati confirmed the action. He said that the action was taken after a complaint of Kanakne. She said that other criminal proceedings were underway against the accused in the Prevention of Corruption Act.
An operation reportedly stirred up the municipal corporation. The case raises issues of corruption in the provision of basic civic services. The complaints will undergo the legal procedures.