ACB booked deputy registrar, agent for demanding Rs 83K bribe

Aurangabad, April 2:

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday lodged a case against the deputy registrar of the registry office at Gangapur and a private agent for demanding Rs 70,000 for the registry of land at Ghanegaon in Gangapur tehsil and additional Rs 13,000 for the registry of a row house. The deputy registrar Audumbar Arjun Late and private agent Sanjay Kamble suspected that they are being trapped fled away from the registry office without accepting the bribe. Later, the sources said that the accused pressurized the complainant to withdraw the complaint against them.

The complainant has land at Ghanegaon in Gangapur tehsil. He is developing the land by constructing and selling row houses on the land. He had to make two different registries of this land, and hence he met the deputy registrar Late through agent Kamble. Late demanded Rs 1 lakh for this work, and the agent Kamble told the complainant that the amount could be reduced after negotiation. As the complainant was not ready to pay the amount, he lodged a complaint at the ACB. On Tuesday, the ACB officers laid a trap at the registry office at Gangapur.

Meanwhile, a deal was fixed between the accused and the complainant at Rs 70,000 for the registry of the farm land and Rs 13,000 for the registry of the row house, all amounting to Rs 83,000. When the accused found that some unknown persons are wandering in the office premises, they got suspicious and fled away from the office. As Late had the additional charge of the Aurangabad registry office, the ACB officers went there but he was not there. Although Late and Kamble have not accepted the bribe amount but it was found that they had demanded the bribe. When they realized that the ACB can initiate action against them, they went to the complainant's house and pressurized him to withdraw the complaint. On Friday, the ACB officers lodged a complaint at the Gangapur police station against Late and Kamble.