Sales tax officer in ACB net for accepting Rs 15 lakh in bribe

Kolhapur, Oct 5 (UNI) Anti Corruption Bureau sleuths have arrested a sales tax deputy commissioner for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh here.

The accused, V G Mekale, had allegedly demanded and accepted the sum from a city-based contractor and businessman Yallappa Lokare.

The Sales Tax Department had sent a notice to Lokare and had warned of action against him regarding sales tax matters. He met Mr Mekale who allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 20 lakh to settle the issue. Finally, the demand was scaled down to Rs 15 lakh to be paid in instalments.

Lokare had paid up two instalments but was to pay up the remaining Rs 7 lakh. When Mekale began pressing for the amount, Lokare lodged a complaint with the ACB.

ACB sleuths laid a trap and nabbed Mekale while allegedly accepting the final amount.

UNI