Navi Mumbai man arrested for bribery over ration card income change

On July 29, a resident of Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, approached the ration department at the Tehsil Office in Panvel to update his father's income details on their ration card. The father, a former taxi driver, had no current income, but the recorded income was Rs 80,000. The officials at the office informed the complainant that they could not process any new income records. Anand Gurav, who was present at the office, then solicited a bribe of Rs 4,500 to facilitate the change in income details. Unwilling to comply with the bribe request, the complainant reported the incident to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on August 21. The ACB took the complaint seriously and conducted a verification process to confirm the bribery allegations. Following their investigation, they set a trap to catch Gurav in the act. Gurav was arrested while accepting the bribe, highlighting the ongoing issues of corruption within public service sectors. The ACB is now looking into whether Gurav had any connections with officials in the rationing department, which could indicate a broader network of corruption. A case has been registered against Gurav under section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which addresses the taking of undue advantage to influence public servants through corrupt means. This incident underscores the challenges faced by citizens in accessing public services without resorting to bribery.