Lakhs tumble out of tainted babu’s closet

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) found records of Rs30 lakh deposited in three different bank accounts, Rs16 lakh in cash and gold worth Rs6 lakh when they searched the house of Subhash Meshram, deputy director of fisheries department.

Meshram was caught red-handed by ACB officials on Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs10,000. “As per the government rule, if the person wants to buy a new boat, he gets a subsidy from the state and Central government”, said an ACB official.

The complainant had put up a proposal for subsidy in the fisheries department in Mumbai in June. He alleged in his complaint to the ACB that Meshram had demanded a bribe of Rs2 lakh to forward his proposal to the joint commissioner’s office but later the amount was negotiated down to Rs1.5 lakh.

According to ACB sources: “The complainant gave the amount to Meshram and after that he demanded bribe on every occasion for clearing the file. Finally when Meshram demanded Rs20,000 for the proposal to get the final signature, the complainant decided to teach him a lesson”.

The complainant approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. “We laid a trap and arrested Meshram for taking bribe of Rs10,000,” said Niket Kaushik, additional commissioner of police, ACB. “After arresting him, we searched his Worli resident and found Rs16 lakh in cash, gold ornaments worth Rs6 lakh and records of Rs30 lakh deposited in three banks accounts,” said Kaushik.

“We also found few documents relating to properties in his native place, Nagpur. We are investigating further to find out about the property and other assets of Meshram that he has invested in the names of his family or relatives,” he added.

When asked whether a case of disproportionate assets will be registered against Meshram, Kaushik said: “It is premature to say anything in this regard as we are still getting details about his properties and assets.”