A village sarpanch and panchayat secretary were today caught by the Lokayukta police for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 4,000 from farmer.
Acting on a tip-off that Vishnavada village sarpanch Vishnuprasad Jatia and panchayat secretary Dinesh Choudhry sought bribe from the victim, who is into fish farming, threatening that if he did not cough up the money, they would cancel his lease for a pond, Lokayukta sleuths laid a trap and caught them.
The farmer along with other members of his self-help group have taken the pond on a ten-year lease for fish rearing. However, the sarpanch and the secretary have threaten to cancel it.
The complanant recorded the conversation between them on the issue on phone and tipped-off Lokayukta about it, following which they were arrested.
Lokayukta police have registered a case under Prevention of Corruption Act in this regard and further investigation into the case is on.
