ACB Superintendent of Police Thane Sandeep Karnik told PTI that inspector Dileep Vitthal Joshi (58) was supposed to process an application by a hotel owner for employment of girls.
To issue a permit to do so, the officer allegedly demanded Rs 42,000, though he agreed to accept Rs 26,000 later, after negotiations.
After the deal was fixed, the hotel owner lodged a complaint with the Thane unit of ACB which laid a trap at the excise department office in Kopri and arrested the excise official while he accepted the bribe money, ACB sources said.