SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, March 3: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) team of Dhanbad today apprehended Kartik Mahto, the chief (Mukhiya) of Poplo Panchayat in the Chandrapura block of Bokaro district, for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a beneficiary of a government scheme.
ACB Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Binod Kumar informed the media that Mahto had initially demanded Rs 20,000 from the beneficiary to process the Geotagging of his application under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
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When repeated requests to proceed without the bribe were ignored by the Panchayat chief, the beneficiary filed a complaint with the ACB. The officials conducted a verification and arranged for the beneficiary to offer Rs 10,000 as the first installment of the bribe.
As per the pre-planned operation, when the beneficiary handed over the Rs 10,000 to Mahto, the ACB team arrested him red-handed. The Panchayat chief was then brought to Dhanbad, where he is currently being interrogated.