- A Mandal Parishad Development Officer and son caught accepting bribe in Telangana
- They demanded money for land development project approval in Padamatigudem village
- ACB laid trap and caught them accepting Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 bribe payments
In a major Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) operation, a Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO) and her son were caught while allegedly accepting a bribe at the Narsimhulapet Mandal Parishad office in Telangana's Mahabubabad district.
MPDO Penugonda Radhika, Mandal Panchayat Officers (MPO) K Yakaiah and C Nagarjuna,who is Radhika's son and works as a driver, were arrested on Friday after they allegedly demanded and accepted money from a complainant for an official favour related to a land development proposal in the village of Padamatigudem.
The three were caught red-handed by the ACB's Warangal Range while accepting a bribe from the complainant for doing an official favour.
They allegedly took Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 during the trap. Officials said the accused had earlier also demanded and accepted Rs 30,000 and Rs 25,000 from the complainant for the same work.
The complainant had approached the senior officials seeking approval and necessary instructions for a layout development project.
"However, the officials allegedly demanded money to process the work. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB and lodged a complaint," the anti-corruption wing of Telangana said.
Based on the complaint, ACB officials laid a trap and conducted a raid at the MPDO office in Narsimhulapet. During the operation, the officials allegedly accepted part of the bribe amount through Nagarjuna, who was said to be acting as an intermediary.
"All three accused were caught during the trap operation while accepting the bribe amount," an ACB official said.
Investigators said the accused had allegedly demanded money in exchange for issuing instructions to the Panchayat Secretary regarding the mortgaging of a portion of land to the Gram Panchayat as security for the layout development.
ACB officials recovered the tainted cash during the operation.
Officials stated that the MPDO accepted the money through her son, who was reportedly working as her personal assistant and driver.
"The accused misused their official position and sought an undue advantage for performing an official duty," the ACB said.
All three accused were produced before the Special Judge for ACB cases in Warangal.
The case is currently under investigation, and officials said further details may emerge during the probe.
