Duo took Rs 30 lakh as advance: Liquidator, administrator held in Pune for demanding Rs 8 crore bribe

A statement issued on Saturday by DSP Dayanand Gawade of the ACB said the complainant in this case is a new member of the Ekta Cooperative Society in Dhankawadi area of Pune city.

The complainant, along with 32 other new members, had purchased shares of the cooperative society from its old members in 2005, the release stated. But in 2020, a dispute began between the new and old members of the society. It escalated to the Department of Co-operation, which appointed an administrator for the society. The administrator conducted an inquiry into the dispute and submitted a report to the department, recommending liquidation of the cooperative society.

In 2024, the department appointed the accused, Deshmukh, as liquidator of the cooperative society.  Meanwhile, the complainant and 32 other new members had submitted applications in 2023 seeking share certificates to the accused Pol, an auditor on the government panel, who was then the administrator of the cooperative society.

The release stated that Pol cleared applications for the 32 new members but the complainant’s application remained pending as he was not present for the hearings.

According to the ACB, in September 2025, the complainant approached Pol regarding his pending application. It is alleged that Pol demanded Rs 3 crore for himself and the liquidator Deshmukh for issuing share certificates to the complainant and 32 new members of the co-operative society.

It is also alleged that they demanded another Rs 5 crore for the auction of the cooperative society’s land in future to a person of their choice. The ACB’s Pune office received a complaint in this regard on December 5.

Subsequently, a trap was laid and the two accused were caught red-handed while accepting the advance amount from the complainant, the statement said.

An FIR was then lodged against the two accused at the Vishrambag police station under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Pravin Nimbalkar, police inspector, is further investigating the case.

A special court in Pune remanded both the accused to ACB’s custody till December 9 for further investigation.