Mumbai – Indradev PandeyThe ACB team also found phenolphthalein powder on Shitole’s shirt, bathroom lock, and main door, which will serve as evidence in the case.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officers on Friday searched a septic tank and dredged over 20 gutters in Dahisar to recover bribe money that a senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officer had flushed down the toilet after being caught in an ACB trap.The ACB initiated the operation following a complaint from a 40-year-old liaison officer working for a company. A restaurant in Borivali had hired the company’s services.
About a month ago, the restaurant, through the liaison officer, applied for a no-objection certificate (NOC) via the Brihanmumbai Fire Brigade Portal to install a PNG gas connection.The complainant then met a BMC senior fire officer, Prahlad Shitole, at his office on New Link Road in Dahisar. Shitole resides on the fourth floor of the same building where his office is located.”After visiting the site, the officer initially demanded a bribe of Rs. 1,30,000 to issue the NOC, which he showed to the complainant by typing it in a calculator,” an officer said.When the liaison officer refused to pay the bribe, Shitole reduced his demand to Rs. 80,000 that he again showed by typing it in a calculator. On Wednesday, when the complainant went to meet Shitole at his office, the officer asked for any amount above Rs 50,000. As the liaison officer did not wish to give a bribe, he reported the matter to the ACB’s head office in Worli on Thursday. The ACB verified the complaint and decided to offer Rs. 60,000, setting up a trap to catch Shitole red-handed.A senior ACB officer explained the procedure: “Before trapping anyone, we record the serial numbers of the currency and coat the notes with phenolphthalein powder. After the trap, the powder-covered hands are dipped into a solution, which turns pink, serving as evidence in court.”On Friday, when the complainant went to deliver the bribe, Shitole allegedly called him to the ground floor and then into a lift, where he accepted Rs. 60,000.”We had set up a trap around his office, but Shitole, sensing something was different due to the presence of people and the powder on the notes, went directly to his fourth-floor residence from the lift and flushed the notes down the toilet,” an officer said.The ACB team, finding Shitole absent from his office, went to his home but initially received no response. Shitole later returned to his office, where he was taken into custody. During questioning, Shitole admitted that he had flushed the notes out of fear.For the ACB’s case to stand in court, they needed to show the recovery of the bribe money. The ACB officers had to dredge through the building’s septic tank to recover the money. Around 20 gutters in the area were also inspected with the help of plumbers.They managed to recover Rs. 57,000 but could not retrieve the remaining Rs. 3000, which had likely been washed away.The ACB team also found phenolphthalein powder on Shitole’s shirt, bathroom lock, and main door, which will serve as evidence in the case.Shitole, who was later arrested, has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for destruction of evidence under the BNS Act. He was produced before court and remanded in police custody till September 3.A senior ACB official stated that recovering the bribe from the government servant is the ‘most important piece of evidence’ to prove the officer’s guilt in court.
