Corrupt government officials as well as their middlemen are offering people the option of paying bribes in easy "instalments" in Gujarat, where at least 10 such cases have been reported so far this year though the ACB said there is nothing new in this practice.At least ten cases have been reported in Gujarat this year wherein government officials as well as their middlemen have demanded bribe money in instalments, officials of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said on Thursday. According to ACB Director Shamsher Singh, this practice of taking bribes in "instalments" is not new and it has been going on since long.
"There is nothing new in it. Usually, the victim agrees to give the first instalment before the work is done and then gives the second after the work is done. But sometimes, they change their mind and approach the ACB instead of giving the second or any subsequent instalment," he explained.
In March, two persons, claiming to be working for Gujarat GST officials, had approached a mobile shop owner in Ahmedabad and demanded a bribe of Rs 21 lakh to settle a tax-related issue he was facing following a raid. The shop owner agreed to pay Rs 2 lakh as the "first instalment" and the remaining sum in two instalments afterwards. The shop owner later changed his mind and approached the ACB, which laid a trap on March 30 and nabbed one of the two accused while accepting the first instalment of Rs 2 lakh, said an ACB release.
In April, a deputy sarpanch and a taluka panchay.
