Maharashtra forest officer arrested for demanding Rs 45 lakh bribe with dummy notes.Beed:

A forest department official was caught on Friday for allegedly seeking and accepting a bribe of Rs 45 lakh, with the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau using dummy notes with a face value of Rs 40 lakh during the trap it laid as part of its operation.

Srinivas Linganna Lakhmawad (40), a Class I officer in the Social Forestry Division, was held at his residence in Nagar Naka on Canal Road here by the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar unit of the ACB, an official said.

"A range forest officer (RFO) approached ACB on July 29 with a written complaint claiming Lakhmawad had sought a huge bribe of Rs 45 lakh to process distribution of tree plantation funds. The accused also promised to refrain from forwarding a suspension proposal, releasing two pending salary increments, and withholding an enquiry into nursery development works," the official said.

As part of the probe, a verification was carried out, which confirmed the bribe demand of Rs 45 lakh, he said.

"To execute the trap, a parcel was made, containing Rs 5 lakh in genuine currency notes and Rs 40 lakh in dummy notes. Lakhmawad was held as soon as he accepted the parcel during the operation. A case is being registered under Prevention of Corruption Act at Shivajinagar police station here," the official said.

Formal arrest proceedings will be initiated after the FIR is lodged, the official added.