Junior Engineer of Surat Municipal Corporation nabbed for 35K bribe

Surat : Keyur Rajesh Patel, a junior engineer in the Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) Town Development Department at Varachha Zone-A, and his accomplice, peon Nimesh Gandhi, were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (ACB) Surat division while accepting a Rs 35,000 bribe. The event sent shockwaves across local government and prompted suspicions about corruption in municipal workplaces.

The issue centres on charges that Junior Engineer Keyur Patel requested a large payment from a concerned citizen in order to save the second and third floors of his own home in Varachha from being demolished. Patel allegedly demanded the Rs 50,000 payment as a condition for not ordering the destruction of these two levels. The complainant, however, was adamant about not succumbing to corruption and soon reported the situation to the ACB Surat.

Finally, the complainant agreed to pay Rs 35,000 for failing to destroy his two stories. On September 12, he (the complainant) directed the junior engineer and the peon to collect the money from outside the Puna ward office in Varachha.

In response to the allegation, the Anti-Corruption Bureau launched a sting operation supervised by Trapping Officer AK Chauhan, an ACB police inspector. This operation was carried out under the careful supervision of Surat ACB Assistant Director RR Chaudhary.

The operation took place in Varachha’s Puna ward office, where the complainant had scheduled a meeting with Junior Engineer Keyur Patel and Peon Nimesh Gandhi. The two accused officials were apprehended with the bribe money, which had been marked with powdered ink for identifying reasons, on the road outside the Puna ward office.

Following the successful operation, a FIR was filed against both the junior engineer and the peon. more investigations are also continuing to discover the exact extent of their participation in corrupt activities and if there are any more incidents of bribery or corruption tied to their employment within the Surat Municipal Corporation.