u/Due_Special6544

If you live in Jalgaon or have ever had to deal with a government office here, none of this is going to shock you. What's surprising is how clearly the numbers show just how normalized bribe-taking has become. The Anti-Corruption Bureau's own review data lays it out plainly.

In 2024, 37 bribery cases were registered in Jalgaon district with 61 accused. In 2025 that jumped to 45 cases and 78 accused — an increase of 8 cases in a single year. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/revenue-department-tops-bribery-cases-in-jalgaon-in-2025-zilla-parishad-second) That's not a small uptick. That's a trend. And these are only the cases where someone was bold enough to approach the ACB and cooperate with a trap operation. The actual scale of everyday bribery is almost certainly far higher.

So which departments are the worst offenders?

The Revenue Department topped the charts in 2025, with the ACB conducting 7 actions resulting in the arrest of 13 people. The Zilla Parishad came in second with 5 traps laid and 6 accused. The Police Department had 5 cases, as did the Electricity Distribution Department. The Forest Department had 3 cases, Education Department 4, and there were individual cases against the Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, Land Records Department, and Public Health Department. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/revenue-department-tops-bribery-cases-in-jalgaon-in-2025-zilla-parishad-second) Basically, if there's a government counter where someone goes to get something done, there's a good chance someone behind it has their hand out.

Now here's how these things actually play out on the ground, with real examples from Jalgaon:

The ₹5 Lakh PWD Engineer Case — May 2026

This one just happened and is a good example of how deep the rot goes. (https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-pwd-engineer-arrested-by-acb-while-accepting-5-lakh-bribe-in-road-project-case)

A cement-concrete road project in Ward No. 14 at Vinoba Nagar in Jalgaon city had been sanctioned in 2024 at a cost of ₹80.39 lakh. The work was completed on time in 2025, but the contractor only received roughly ₹42 lakh in October 2025 while ₹38.49 lakh was held back. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-pwd-engineer-arrested-by-acb-while-accepting-5-lakh-bribe-in-road-project-case) When the contractor went to follow up, Branch Engineer Yogesh Abhimanyu Ahire of the PWD allegedly demanded ₹17 lakh to release the pending payment. After negotiating, they landed on ₹15 lakh, to be paid in two instalments.

According to the complaint, ₹7.50 lakh was allegedly meant for Ahire personally, while the remaining amount was allegedly to be distributed among senior officials. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-pwd-engineer-arrested-by-acb-while-accepting-5-lakh-bribe-in-road-project-case)

When the ACB laid a trap, Ahire allegedly told the complainant to leave the cash under the front seat of his blue Baleno car. He was caught red-handed. After his arrest, Ahire allegedly claimed that part of the money was meant for the son of a city corporator. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-pwd-engineer-arrested-by-acb-while-accepting-5-lakh-bribe-in-road-project-case) The investigation has now expanded. This is how it works — one engineer is caught, and suddenly there's a chain of names behind him.

The Pollution Control Board Officer with ₹6.79 Lakh Stashed at Home — September 2025

(https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-maharashtra-pollution-control-board-officer-caught-taking-rs-15000-bribe)

Rajendra Pandurang Suryavanshi, a Class-2 officer at the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in Jalgaon, was caught accepting a bribe of ₹15,000. The complainant was a manager at a hospital in Raver whose application for a biowaste handling certificate had been deliberately stalled after Suryavanshi created problems in the paperwork. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-maharashtra-pollution-control-board-officer-caught-taking-rs-15000-bribe)

When the trap was laid, Suryavanshi used a private individual named Manoj Gajre as a middleman to collect the money. Both were arrested. When ACB searched Suryavanshi's office bag, they found ₹2,26,000 in cash. When they searched his home, another ₹4,53,000 turned up. He was taking ₹15,000 from a hospital. He had nearly ₹7 lakh sitting around. This kind of case shows you the bribe you see is rarely the full picture.

Two Police Constables from Amalner Caught Taking ₹12,000 to Protect an Illegal Business — 2025

Two police constables posted at Amalner Police Station — Amol Rajendra Patil and Jitendra Ramanlal Nikumbh — were caught by the ACB while accepting ₹12,000 from a relative to allow an illegal business to continue operating. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-maharashtra-pollution-control-board-officer-caught-taking-rs-15000-bribe) The police are supposed to be the ones stopping this.

The Gram Sevak Who Blocked a Farm Warehouse Permission — January 2024

(https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/gram-sevak-caught-red-handed-accepting-bribe-in-jalgaon-district)

In Chopda tehsil, a 39-year-old Gram Sevak named Hemchandra Dattatray Sonwane from Devgaon had actually granted a farmer permission to build a warehouse on his land, but then came back demanding ₹7,500 as a "reward" for having done his job. When the ACB verified the complaint and laid a trap, Sonwane was caught red-handed accepting ₹5,000, the amount settled upon after negotiation. A case was registered at Adavad Police Station. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/gram-sevak-caught-red-handed-accepting-bribe-in-jalgaon-district)

This one is worth paying attention to because of how petty it is. The permission had already been given. The official came back after the fact to extort money for work he had already done. This is the reality for farmers and small business owners in rural Jalgaon.

How the ACB trap system actually works

A lot of people don't know they have options when an official demands money. The process is straightforward. When someone approaches the ACB with a bribe complaint, officers first verify the demand is real, then coordinate a sting. The complainant carries marked currency notes and hands over the money while ACB officials and independent witnesses observe. The moment the official accepts, they are arrested on the spot. The Prevention of Corruption Act sections 7 and 12 are the usual charges. All 2025 Jalgaon operations were conducted under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police Yogesh Thakur, who has urged citizens to contact the bureau if any government employee demands a bribe. [The Free Press Journal](https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/revenue-department-tops-bribery-cases-in-jalgaon-in-2025-zilla-parishad-second) The ACB helpline is 1064 and complaints can be filed in person at the Jalgaon ACB office.

The big picture

The pattern across Jalgaon is consistent. Revenue officials stall 7/12 documents and land mutations until someone pays. PWD engineers hold contractor payments hostage. Forest officers demand money before clearing permits. Teachers and education officials take money for transfers or records. Police take money to look the other way or to close cases. The amounts range from ₹5,000 by a village-level gram sevak to ₹17 lakh by a city engineer. The same playbook repeats: delay the work, create a problem in the paperwork, or simply refuse to move forward until payment is made.

The ACB is catching more people than ever. But the question nobody is asking loudly enough is why the numbers are going up, not down.

Maharashtra is India's richest state, its financial capital, its industrial engine. It is also, according to its own Anti-Corruption Bureau, a state where a government employee gets caught taking a bribe almost twice a day. What follows is not an opinion piece. It is a city-by-city, name-by-name breakdown of who got caught, when, and how much they demanded. Every case is sourced. Read it and decide for yourself whether anything will ever change.

The Numbers First — Because They Are Staggering

In 2025, the ACB Maharashtra registered 669 trap cases across the state. That means 669 times, a citizen refused to pay a bribe, walked to the ACB, and a trap was successfully laid. 988 persons were booked. Rs 3.54 crore in bribe money was involved. The Nashik range had the most cases with 138, followed by Pune with 121, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with 109, Thane with 82, Amravati with 71, Nanded with 55, Nagpur with 54 and Mumbai with 39. The Revenue and Land Records department was the most corrupt department with 168 cases, followed by Police with 120 cases, Panchayat Samiti with 69, and electricity distributor MSEDCL with 46.

Then came Q1 of 2026. From January to March alone, 183 more cases were registered and 262 persons booked. The pipeline has not slowed down even slightly.

Source for both stat blocks: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-acb-registers-669-corruption-cases-in-2025-revenue-and-police-departments-top-list and https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/maharashtra-acb-registers-183-corruption-cases-in-q1-2026-revenue-police-officials-top-list

Now let us go city by city.

PUNE — May 13, 2026 | Rs 50,000 | Police Inspector, Bavdhan

Assistant Police Inspector Jyoti Pandurang Tambe (41) at Bavdhan Police Station under Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate was caught demanding Rs 50,000 to shield a complainant's relatives from arrest and to fast-track a chargesheet. The complainant approached the ACB on March 12 and a trap was laid. Tambe was caught red-handed. Operation run under ACB SP Shirish Sardeshpande.

Source: https://www.punekarnews.in/pune-bavdhan-police-api-caught-demanding-rs-50000-bribe/

PUNE — May 2, 2026 | Rs 28 Lakh | Economic Offences Wing

API Vaishali Totewar of the Economic Offences Wing had just been promoted to Police Inspector and was transferring to Mumbai Railway Police. Before she could even join her new posting, the ACB caught her intermediary near Hotel Conrad accepting Rs 28 lakh in cash. Totewar was handling 8 to 9 complaint applications at the time. Searches were launched at her office and residence simultaneously.

Source: https://www.punekarnews.in/pune-police-officer-caught-in-rs-28-lakh-bribery-case-acb-lays-trap/

PUNE — May 2, 2026 | Rs 80,000 | Lohegaon Police Station, Inside the Station Itself

PSI Manoj Madhukar Baste (38) at Lohegaon Police Station was caught accepting Rs 80,000 from a businessman linked to a non-cognizable case. What is notable here is that the PSI initially demanded Rs 70,000 and then raised his own demand to Rs 80,000 during negotiations. The bribe was paid inside the police station.

Source: https://www.mypunepulse.com/pune-lohegaon-psi-caught-taking-%E2%82%B980000-bribe-inside-police-station-acb-launches-probe/

MUMBAI — May 6, 2026 | Rs 10,000 | BMC, Andheri East

BMC senior assistant supervisor Yogesh Sawant demanded Rs 15,000 from a complainant to process his son's permanent appointment as a sanitation worker. The amount was negotiated down to Rs 10,000. Sawant directed his subordinate Chandrakant Gamre to collect the money, and Gamre was caught red-handed. Both were arrested and charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Source: https://hellomumbainews.com/current-news/acb-trap-in-mumbai-bmc-employee-chandrakant-gamre-yogesh-sawant-arrested-for-%E2%82%B910000-bribe-acb-officer-anil-chittrwad-begins-inquiry/

MUMBAI — November 25, 2025 | Rs 20,000 | BMC Sanitation Inspector, Dahisar

Dilip Sarvade (57), Sanitation Inspector at BMC's R/North Ward in Dahisar, was caught accepting Rs 20,000 from an eatery owner as the annual instalment of a running bribe arrangement. The deal was simple: pay up every year and no action would be taken against the establishment. The complainant refused, went to the ACB, and Sarvade was trapped.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-crime-anti-corruption-bureau-arrests-bmc-sanitation-inspector-for-accepting-20000-bribe-in-dahisar

NAGPUR — April 25, 2026 | Rs 5 Lakh | District Collector's Office

Revenue Assistant Naresh Sadhuraoji Barve (54) at the Nagpur Collector's Office was caught accepting Rs 5 lakh to clear an appeal related to a construction matter on a nazul (government-owned) plot. He did not take the bribe at his office. He called the complainant to his private residence in Nandanvan Layout at 11 PM at night. The ACB was waiting. He was caught with the cash in hand.

Source: https://theprint.in/india/revenue-official-caught-taking-rs-5-lakh-bribe-at-home-in-nagpur/2914258/

NAGPUR — March 2026 | Rs 1,000 | RTO Checkpost, Kandri

Motor Vehicle Inspector Abhijit Tale of the Nagpur RTO and his private agent Sushil Vinod Ramtekkar were caught at the Kandri border checkpost demanding Rs 1,000 to let a trailer truck pass through. Drivers at this checkpost had reportedly been paying Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 as a routine toll. The ACB laid a trap during an actual transit and caught them on the spot.

Source: https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2026/3/12/acb-nabs-mvi-agent-while-accepting-bribe-of-rs-1000.html

NAGPUR — February 26, 2026 | Rs 3,000 | Nagpur Municipal Corporation

NMC Revenue Inspector Pramod Vasantkumar Mogre (50) at the Hanuman Nagar Zone office used a private middleman, Rakesh Narendra Dodke, to collect Rs 3,500 from a flat buyer who had applied to transfer property tax into his name. The middleman promised the tax would be reduced to Rs 1,800 annually if the bribe was paid. The ACB caught both of them.

Source: https://www.nagpurtoday.in/nmc-revenue-inspector-middleman-in-acb-trap-for-rs-3000-bribe/02261253

NAVI MUMBAI — April 7, 2026 | Rs 20,000 | Maharashtra State Board of Education

Rajendra Manik Ahire, Divisional Chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education at Vashi, was caught accepting Rs 20,000 inside his own office cabin from an electrical contractor whose bills were being deliberately held up. His colleague Manohar Laxman Pawar facilitated the transaction. The contractor had submitted invoices worth Rs 3.16 lakh and was told 7 percent commission was the standard price for bill clearance.

Source: https://www.newsband.in/article\_detail/acb-traps-state-board-official-in-rs-20000-bribe-case

JALGAON — May 9, 2026 | Rs 5 Lakh | PWD Office

Branch Engineer Yogesh Abhimanyu Ahire (54) of the PWD was caught accepting Rs 5 lakh as the first instalment of a Rs 15 lakh bribe demanded for clearing a road project bill worth Rs 38.49 lakh. The original demand was Rs 17 lakh. Ahire told the contractor to hide the cash under the front seat of his blue Baleno car. The ACB was watching. During investigation, Ahire claimed part of the money was meant for the son of a city corporator.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/jalgaon-pwd-engineer-arrested-by-acb-while-accepting-5-lakh-bribe-in-road-project-case

The Pattern No One Wants to Talk About

Look at who is getting caught. Police officers. Revenue officials. Municipal corporation staff. School board administrators. Road engineers. RTO checkpost officers. BMC health inspectors. This is not one rotten apple. This is the whole orchard.

The ACB has 8 ranges covering every district in Maharashtra — Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Pune, Amravati, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nanded. All of them are busy. The ACB's own press release page in 2026 has FIRs from Pune, Jalgaon, Nashik, Nagpur, Dhule, Nandurbar, Kolhapur, Solapur, Beed, Dharashiv, Chandrapur, Ahilyanagar and more. Not a single region is clean.

And remember — these are only the cases where citizens refused to pay and had the courage to go to the ACB. For every arrest, how many people just paid up and went home? 10? 50? Nobody knows.

208 government officials across 20 departments who have already been booked in corruption cases are still not suspended as of Q1 2026. They are still sitting in their chairs. Still signing files. Still answering phones.

Drop your district below. Has anyone personally been asked for a bribe at a government office in Maharashtra? RTO, collector office, municipal corporation, school, ration office — any of it. This thread is the place.

TL;DR: Maharashtra sees nearly 2 bribery arrests every single day. 669 cases in 2025. 183 in just the first 3 months of 2026. Police, revenue, PWD, BMC, education board — nobody is clean. ACB is catching them but 208 already-arrested officials have not even been suspended yet.

ACB Helpline: 1064 | Report and track cases online: https://acbmaharashtra.gov.in