The Surat Anti-Corruption Bureau officials on Friday booked three persons including the deputy engineer of Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) and an assistant engineer for allegedly accepting a bribe amount of Rs 35,000.
The accused were identified as DGVCL Yogi Chowk subdivision Deputy engineer Miteshkumar Pastagiya, assistant electrical engineer Yogesh Patel and Vijay Parmar, who allegedly accepted the bribe amount from the complainant, who runs a shop in a Swastik plaza complex at Yogi chowk in Varachha area of Surat.
According to officials, a few day ago, the DGVCL officials had disconnected the power supply at the complainant’s shop as he had not paid the electricity bill and taken away the meter box.
According to the complainant, he paid the pending bill amount to DGVCL and requested deputy engineer Miteshkumar Pastagiya, to get the meter box installed. Pastagiya demanded Rs 35,000 from the complainant and told him to pay the amount to his assistant electrical engineer Yogesh Patel.
The complainant contacted Surat ACB office and lodged a complaint in this connection. Acting on the complaint, ACB laid a trap as part of which the complainant called Yogesh Patel and agreed to pay the amount.
On behalf of Yogesh Patel, the complainant handed money to one Vijay Parmar. The complainant also confirmed to Patel, after delivering the money, the ACB officials said.
The officials caught Vijay Parmar and seized the bribe amount of Rs 35,000. The ACB officials also reached DGVCL Yogi Chowk office and caught both Miteshkumar Pastagiya and his assistant Yogesh Patel.
Surat ACB sources said that all the three accused were brought to the ACB office and they were taken to government hospital for Covid-19 test. They will be arrested once the test report turns negative.