Gujarat asst director of information held on bribery charges

Vadodara, Jun 13 (UNI) An assistant director of the regional office of the Gujarat information department, was arrested by sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) here today.

B B Desai, who was absconding after his driver was caught red-handed yesterday while accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from a folk artist, allegedly at the instance of the accused, surrendered before the ACB today.

He was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Following a complaint by the artist Dhanraj Charan that the assistant director had demanded a bribe of Rs 2,000 for releasing his dues of Rs 4,000, the ACB laid a trap, but Desai escaped as he asked his driver Jash Patel to collect the bribe on his behalf outside the premises of the information department.

Dhanraj had charged Rs 4,000 for organising a couple of programmes in the district during the recent government-sponsored Krishi Mahotshav but petitioned the ACB after the information official demanded 50 per cent of his dues as bribe.

Both the accused, who denied the charges, were later released on bail.

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