2 Gujarat Drug Officials Caught Allegedly Taking Rs 40,000 Bribe
Bharuch: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has allegedly caught two officials of Gujarat's Food and Drugs Department while accepting a Rs 40,000 bribe in connection with the processing of a new wholesale drug licence in Bharuch. The accused officials include a 54-year-old Assistant Commissioner and a 29-year-old Drug Inspector who also serves as an Assistant Commissioner in the department.
The two officials have been identified as Prakashbhai Posnani, 54, Assistant Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Department in Bharuch and a Class I officer, and Surbhiben Desai, 29, a Drug Inspector and Assistant Commissioner in the department and a Class II officer.
According to officials, the ACB caught both accused during a trap operation conducted at the Assistant Commissioner’s chamber at the Food and Drugs Control Administration office in Bharuch. The case relates to an application submitted by a complainant, described by the ACB as a “vigilant citizen,” for obtaining a new wholesale licence for medicines.
During the processing of the licence application, Desai allegedly informed the complainant that the licensing procedure would be completed, but ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 would have to be paid to a senior official. The complainant was reportedly unwilling to pay the alleged bribe and subsequently approached the Narmada ACB Police Station with the complaint.
Based on the complaint, the ACB arranged a trap at the Bharuch office on August 18. During the trap operation, Posnani and Desai allegedly accepted ₹40,000 from the complainant. The ACB subsequently recovered the entire ₹40,000 amount.
The ACB alleged that the two officials had misused their positions as public servants by accepting the money and had committed criminal misconduct in connection with the alleged bribe transaction. The case concerns the alleged demand and acceptance of money linked to the processing and issuance of a new wholesale drug licence.
The trap operation was conducted by D D Vasava, Police Inspector at the Narmada ACB Police Station, under the supervision of B M Patel, In-charge Assistant Director of the ACB’s Vadodara unit. Baldev Desai, Deputy Director of ACB Vadodara, was the officer in charge of the operation.
The ACB's action followed the complaint against the two Food and Drugs Department officials and the alleged demand for money during the wholesale drug licence process. Following the trap and recovery of the alleged bribe amount, the two accused officials face further legal proceedings in connection with the case, reports Mid-Day.
