ACB Gujarat nabs Talati, female computer operator in bribe case

Surat: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Surat district caught two employees of the Sivan Gram Panchayat in Olpad taluka red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹7,000 inside the Gram Panchayat office.

The accused are Bharat Nathubhai Chaudhary (45), serving as Talati-cum-Mantri (class-3 government employee) at Sivan and Sayan Gram Panchayat offices, and Pragati Yogeshbhai Patel (22), a contract-based female computer operator.

According to the ACB, a local resident from Sivan village had constructed two houses on his plots within the village panchayat limits. Despite repeatedly submitting applications to the panchayat office to have his properties officially assessed, Talati Bharat Chaudhary kept delaying the process and giving excuses. Later, when the complainant approached computer operator Pragati Patel, she allegedly conveyed Chaudhary’s demand of ₹7,000 to carry out the assessment.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant secretly recorded conversations about the bribe demand on his mobile phone and then contacted R.R. Chaudhary, Assistant Director at the Surat district ACB.

Acting on the complaint, the ACB set up a trap on Friday, July 25. When both Bharat Chaudhary and Pragati Patel were present in the Sivan Gram Panchayat office, the complainant handed over ₹7,000 in cash as previously discussed. At that moment, the ACB team moved in and caught both accused red-handed accepting the bribe.

A formal complaint was filed at the police station against both employees under corruption charges. DeshGujarat