ACB Gujarat Nabs Sarpanch, Talati for Taking ₹1 Lakh Bribe for Construction Permission

Mehsana: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested a sarpanch and a talati-cum-mantri of Gamanpura village in Mehsana for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹1 lakh from a citizen in exchange for granting construction permission.

The accused have been identified as Maniben Mahendraji Thakor (46), sarpanch of Gamanpura, and Diptiben Vasantbhai Patel (41), talati-cum-mantri of Gamanpura and Deloli Gram Panchayats.

According to the ACB, the complainant had purchased land in Gamanpura village and established a manufacturing unit for water treatment chemicals after converting a portion of the land to non-agricultural (NA) status in 2023. Seeking to expand production capacity, the complainant subsequently approached the Gram Panchayat for NA conversion and construction permission for another plot.

During discussions regarding the permission, Sarpanch Maniben Thakor allegedly demanded ₹1 lakh as bribe, including ₹20,000 for Talati Diptiben Patel. Following negotiations, the amount was reportedly divided into ₹80,000 for the sarpanch and ₹20,000 for the talati.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, the bureau laid a trap on November 2, during which Maniben Thakor was allegedly caught accepting ₹80,000, while Diptiben Patel was caught accepting the remaining ₹20,000. The entire bribe amount of ₹1 lakh was recovered during the operation.

DeshGujarat