Alwar: The Bharatpur unit of the state anti-corruption bureau (ACB) Thursday arrested five officials and employees of the Dholpur Municipal Council red-handed while taking a bribe of over Rs 3 lakh.The civic body’s commissioner, Ashok Kumar Sharma, has been detained for questioning after investigators flagged his role as “suspicious”.The ACB’s operation, planned and executed by a special team, targeted the entrenched network allegedly extorting money from contractors. Among those arrested are assistant engineer (civil) Priya Jha; senior assistant Neeraj Sharma; cashier Bharat Parmar who was caught with Rs 50,000; fire department driver Devendra Kumar Sharma, accused of collecting Rs 2 lakh for the commissioner along with Neeraj; and contract worker Harendra Gurjar, who pocketed Rs 60,000 on Jha’s instructions.Officials said the complainant’s wife, a contractor, had been pressured into paying money for releasing a cheque for drainage work already completed. “This was not an isolated demand. The case exposed collusion across ranks inside the municipal council,” said an official.The complaint was first verified before the bureau mounted a trap. Under the supervision of DIG Rajesh Singh and ASP Amit Singh, the team swooped down on the municipal office and caught the accused while accepting the money. The money was recovered from the spot.Investigators say the bust is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. “The case showed that graft was entrenched at nearly every level, with officials working hand in glove,” a senior officer said.Cases are being registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and further investigation is underway. ACB sources confirmed that the commissioner’s role would be probed in detail to determine whether he is allegedly the ultimate beneficiary. ACB sources said multiple teams were conducting raids at locations linked to the accused. Project files and records related to the drainage work were also being examined.
