Nashik | May 20, 2026: In a major anti-corruption crackdown exposing deep-rooted malpractice within a government office, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested eight persons from the Yeola Forest Range Office in Nashik district for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes to grant permission for cutting a teak tree.
The accused include officials and staff members across different levels of the department — ranging from a forest guard and clerk to labourers and even a private driver. The arrests were made while the accused were allegedly accepting a bribe amount of Rs 11,500. According to the ACB, this is the first operation in the state in which eight persons have been caught simultaneously in a single bribery case.
The complainant, a farmer from Dahegaon Patoda in Yeola taluka, had applied for official permission to cut and legally sell a teak tree from his agricultural land. During the process, officials allegedly demanded a total bribe of Rs 19,000 for granting the mandatory approval.
Following a complaint filed by the farmer, the ACB conducted verification and found that the bribe amount had allegedly been distributed among various individuals in the office, with each accused assigned a specific share.
Distribution of the Alleged Bribe Amount
According to the investigation:
- Pankaj Nagpure allegedly accepted Rs 5,000 on behalf of Bhausaheb Mali and Rs 2,000 for himself.
- Pravin Bhosale allegedly demanded Rs 1,000 for himself.
- Akash Koli allegedly accepted Rs 1,000.
- Vijay Londhe allegedly accepted Rs 1,000.
- Nikhil Arane allegedly accepted Rs 1,000.
- Sunil Bhuruk allegedly accepted Rs 500.
- Ramnath Bhorkade allegedly encouraged the complainant to pay the bribe, though no cash was recovered from him.
The operation was carried out on Tuesday, May 18, by an ACB team led by inspectors Poonam Kedare, Pratibha Abuj, Yuvraj Khandvi, Prabhakar Gawli, Ganesh Nimbalkar and Nitin Netare. A case has been registered at Yeola City Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
