He Headed Fire Department After Rajkot Tragedy, Gets Arrested For Bribery

The in charge chief fire officer of Rajkot Municipal Corporation in Gujarat was arrested on Monday for allegedly seeking and accepting a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh, an Anti Corruption Bureau official said.

In charge CFO Anil Maru had allegedly sought the bribe to grant his department's no-objection certificate (NOC) to a building, he said.

"When the complainant, who is engaged in fire safety fitting work, approached the officer for the issuance of fire NOC for a building, the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 3 lakh. The complainant paid him Rs 1.20 lakh and said he would pay the remaining money in another 4-5 days," the ACB said in a release.

"After the complainant approached the ACB in Jamnagar, a trap was arranged in Rajkot. The accused, who demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh while misusing his position as a public servant, was arrested on the spot," it added.

Anil Maru, incidentally, took charge of the RMC's fire department after then CFO Ilesh Kher was arrested and subsequently suspended in connection with the May 25 TRP game zone fire incident that killed 27 persons.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the RMC's fire department had come in for severe criticism after it was found the ill-fated gaming zone was functioning without an NOC.

Ilesh Kher and his deputy Bhikha Theba were held in June amid the probe in the fire incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)