Firstpost: Nashik: Monday, May 08,
2017.
The Anti
Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested an assistant desk officer of state
information commission (Nashik bench) for asking for a bribe. The ACB arrested
Ravindra Sonar (34), who is also the administrative desk officer in the
commission, red-handed when he was taking a bribe of Rs 10,000.
"The
desk officer first called the complainant who is a principal of Lion's Nutan
Vidya Mandir, Dhule, saying that she is being fined Rs 25,000 for not providing
information. The complainant said that she had provided all the information.
However, Sonar insisted that the information was not given and threatened to
fine her when he did not even have the power to do so," said Sunil
Gamurde, deputy superintendent of police, ACB, Dhule.
Gamurde
added, "He then sought a bribe on May 4 and asked her or someone she knew
to meet him. When her husband met him, he said that Rs 15,000 be paid to him to
escape the penalty under RTI," said Gamurde. As per the RTI Act, a public
information officer can be fined a maximum amount of Rs 25,000 if he fails to
provide information or gives misleading information, or denies giving
information. The fine, however, can be levied only by a state information
commissioner.
"He then
settled for Rs 10,000 which he asked to be given to him. The complainant
approached us and informed us about this. We spoke to our seniors and a trap
was laid on the ground floor near the entrance of the building that has the
state information commission. He was taken into custody at around 11 am when we
caught him red-handed while taking the money from the complainant and then
arrested him by 7 pm. He will now be produced in a special ACB court,"
added Gamurde.
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