'Safety on Fire': After Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Chief Fire Officer Caught Taking Bribe

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officers caught Rajeshkumar Babulal Patel, In-charge Chief Fire Officer of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC), red-handed on Saturday while accepting a ₹20,000 bribe inside his Sector-17 office chamber.

The 55-year-old Class-1 officer had demanded the illicit payment to issue a Fire Safety Renewal No Objection Certificate (NOC). Instead of paying the bribe, the citizen approached the Bharuch ACB police station, prompting sleuths to lay a trap at the Municipal Corporation's Fire and Emergency Services office in Sector-17, Gandhinagar.

Red-Handed Catch Inside Office Chamber

According to ACB details, Patel demanded ₹20,000 directly from the citizen to sign off on the pending fire safety clearance. Following the victim's complaint, a specialized team headed by Bharuch ACB Police Inspector M.J. Shinde organized the operation.

When the complainant handed over the cash inside the officer's chamber, ACB officials swooped in, caught Patel receiving the bribe, and recovered the entire ₹20,000 cash sum on the spot.

ACB Crackdown on Civic Corruption

The arrested official, a resident of Devbhumi Society in Vasna-Hadmatiya and originally from Pethapur in Gandhinagar district, now faces charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. ACB team members secured the marked currency notes and detained Patel on site for further interrogation.

This successful trap highlights the Anti-Corruption Bureau's ongoing push against administrative extortion in public utility and emergency safety approvals across Gujarat municipal bodies.

Last month, Ahmedabad's Chief Fire Officer Amit Dongre and a middleman were caught in a ₹36,000 bribe trap by the ACB for fire NOCs. The intermediary, Bhavsinh Zala, was arrested accepting ₹6,000 per NOC for six buildings, allegedly at the behest of Dongre. Both were booked for conspiracy and corruption, following a vigilant citizen's complaint and a successful trap operation. Later, ACB found out that Jhala allegedly collected ₹23 lakh via QR codes and UPI from FSOs, then transferred cash to Dogra. A rate card for renewals was uncovered, with commissions up to ₹25,000. Digital transaction records serve as key evidence in the ongoing investigation.