Congress corporator in Surat booked for demanding bribe

Ahmedabad:

A case has been registered against a Congress corporator in Gujarat’s Surat for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a house owner, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said on Thursday.

While the corporator- Satish Patel- is yet to be arrested, his accomplice Abhiraj Ejwa was caught red-handed during a trap laid by the ACB outside a housing society in Surat’s Bhestan area on Wednesday, the anti-graft agency said in a statement.

Patel is the sitting municipal councillor of ward number 38 in Bhestan area.

Patel and Ejwa had allegedly sought Rs 20,000 from a Bhestan resident, claiming that his under-construction house is illegal and they will get it demolished by the Surat Municipal Corporation, the ACB said.

After negotiations, the duo agreed to accept Rs 15,000 from the house owner on the promise that they won’t bother him further.

However, the house owner approached the ACB, following which it laid a trap on Wednesday on a public road and caught Ejwa as soon as he accepted Rs 15,000 from the complainant.

Although Patel was not present at the spot, he was also booked for demanding bribe, it said.