ACB catches Gandhinagar deputy mamlatdar, aide accepting Rs 4.5 lakh bribe for issuing property card

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday successfully trapped a deputy mamlatdar posted at the Collector’s office in Gandhinagar along with an accomplice while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹4.5 lakh for facilitating issuance of a property card, officials said.

The accused have been identified as Bipinchandra Khemchandbhai Parmar, a Class-III deputy mamlatdar in the land allotment branch of the Gandhinagar Collector’s office, and Dinesh Budhalal Valand, a retired peon.

According to the ACB, the complainant described as an aware citizen, had approached the land allotment office for processing a property card related to a residential property. It is alleged that acting at the behest of Parmar, Valand demanded a bribe of ₹9.5 lakh from the complainant to ensure a favourable opinion on the application and to avoid raising objections in the documentation.

Officials said the accused had insisted that an initial payment of ₹4.5 lakh be made. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB, which subsequently laid a trap on April 17.

The trap was executed near the Gandhinagar court premises, where the accused allegedly accepted ₹4.5 lakh from the complainant inside his car parked on the roadside. ACB officials caught both accused red-handed during the operation and recovered the entire bribe amount from their possession.

“The accused engaged in deliberate conversation with the complainant and accepted the bribe amount, following which both were apprehended at the spot,” an ACB official said.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of A K Parmar, Assistant Director of the Gandhinagar ACB unit. The trap was led by K K Desai, while Haresh Mewada was the in-charge officer overseeing the case.

Further investigation into the matter is under way.