The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) apprehended Inayat Hussain Ibrahim Shaikh, a Divisional Fire Officer, Class-II, red-handed after he accepted a Rs 65,000 bribe just days after he and eight other coworkers were temporarily restored into the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services.
The arrest happened on Saturday at Ahmedabad’s Prahladnagar fire station.
The ACB claims that the complainant owns a private company that provides consultancy services for installing fire safety equipment in public and private buildings and is also responsible for issuing fire safety certifications (FSC).
The complainant prepared the required paperwork, created a file, and sent it to the accused officer Inayat Shaikh’s office while working as a consultant to acquire a building’s FSC.
The money was not paid by the complainant. But the FSC was approved and given to the structure.
Shaikh allegedly met the complainant face-to-face later and demanded the bribe amount from him in exchange for the previously issued FSC. On that same day, he also took Rs 15,000 from the complainant and kept asking for the remaining Rs 65,000.
The complainant claimed that he was implicitly threatened with the loss of future approval of the files pertaining to his FSCs if he did not pay the remaining sum.
After that, the complainant went to the ACB and filed his grievance. The ACB team, under the direction of Anand ACB Inspector M L Rajput, set up a trap employing recorders and witnesses in response to this report.
According to an ACB statement, the accused intentionally discussed the demand for a bribe with the complainant, collected Rs 65,000 as payment, and was apprehended abusing his position as a state employee, so committing criminal misconduct.
Shaikh was arrested and charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Investigations are still under progress.
Read Also: Ex-RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das Appointed As Principal Secretary-2 To PM Modi
