A sessions court in Vadodara on Tuesday sentenced a former in-charge executive engineer to three years of imprisonment for demanding and accepting a bribe to clear bills for a check dam project, bringing a 17-year-old corruption case to a close.
Background of the case
The convict, Deepak Brahmbhatt, was posted in the irrigation department when he was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in September 2009. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by contractor Madanchand Jain. Jain had submitted a tender in 2008 for constructing check dams in Naswadi taluka and was awarded a work order worth Rs 2.50 crore. Despite completing three check dams, his bills were not cleared.
Demand for bribe
In September 2009, Jain met Brahmbhatt in the irrigation department office at Kuber Bhavan to seek clearance of his bills and the refund of his security deposit. Brahmbhatt allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 4.50 lakh. Jain told Brahmbhatt he would consider the demand and left the office. The engineer later called Jain and reduced the demand to Rs 3 lakh. Jain then offered to pay Rs 2 lakh immediately and the rest after the bills were cleared, the prosecution said.
Brahmbhatt instructed Jain to meet him again at his office and to bring an additional Rs 10,000, purportedly meant for a supervisor. Jain then approached the ACB.
Trap and conviction
An ACB team laid a trap on September 23, 2009, at the irrigation department office and caught Brahmbhatt accepting the Rs 10,000. He was arrested on the spot. After considering all the evidence, the court found Brahmbhatt guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced him to three years in jail, said government pleader Bhavik Purohit.
