Mumbai: Charity commissioner convicted in a bribery case

The sessions court on Monday convicted a 55-year-old Charity Commissioner who was arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakhs from Shaharnaj Soharab Pavri in order to protect her 11 acres of land based in Maval, Pune. The court has sentenced the accused to imprisonment of three years and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000. The court has directed the accused to return the bribe amount to the complainant after completion of the appeal period. The court, however, has released the accused on bail on cash surety of Rs 15,000.

According to the prosecution's case, the accused Anil Shingane was arrested on December 31, 2010, for accepting the bribe amount from the complainant. Evidence says that the accused was forcing the complainant to pay the bribe amount in a case of land dispute since January 2009. Shingane back then was an Assistant Charity Commissioner at Pune. Two men had allegedly filed an application before the accused of the registration of the land in the name of Mahavir Seva Trust, which he had allowed. When the complainant came across the fact that the two men have allegedly played a mischief, she filed a case against the two.

The accused, in order to pass orders in favour of the complainant, had initially demanded an amount of Rs 5 crore. However, after some negotiation, the bribe amount was lowered to Rs 50 lakhs. The complainant had then approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to file her complaint.