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FDA clerk held in ₹35,000 bribe case claims extra cash was for credit card bill, ACB to verify
Investigators said that while ₹35,000 was part of the trap amount, another ₹43,000 in unaccounted cash was also found in his possession.
Rajendra Dherange was caught allegedly accepting the bribe during a trap laid by the ACB on the second floor of Mantralaya on February 12. (Express File Photo)
A CLERK with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly accepting a ₹35,000 bribe inside Mantralaya, has claimed that an additional ₹43,000 recovered from him was his personal money meant to pay a pending credit card bill.
Rajendra Dherange was caught allegedly accepting the bribe during a trap laid by the ACB on the second floor of Mantralaya on February 12. Investigators said that while ₹35,000 was part of the trap amount, another ₹43,000 in unaccounted cash was also found in his possession.
During questioning, Dherange told officials that the extra money belonged to him and was kept aside to clear his credit card dues. However, ACB officials said they would verify his claim. “We will not rely on his statement unless he produces supporting evidence such as bank withdrawal records or proof that he borrowed the money. We will also check his credit card outstanding amount,” a senior officer said.
Dherange was produced before a court on Monday after the end of his three-day police custody and was remanded to judicial custody. The agency has initiated further inquiries into his assets and savings as part of the ongoing probe.
The case stems from a complaint filed by a Mumbai-based medical store owner, who alleged that Dherange demanded ₹50,000 to restore his suspended licence. After negotiations, the amount was allegedly reduced to ₹35,000. The complainant approached the ACB on February 9. Following preliminary verification, the agency laid a trap and apprehended Dherange while allegedly accepting the bribe.
In his written complaint, the medical store owner also alleged the involvement of a senior FDA officer. He claimed that during negotiations, Dherange took him to the senior officer, where he was allegedly told that bribes were calculated on a per-day basis to reduce the duration of licence suspension. According to the complainant, a rate of ₹4,000 per day was allegedly fixed to cut short the suspension period, and the amount was non-negotiable.
ACB officials said they had visited Mantralaya twice with the complainant to verify the allegations, but the trap could not be executed earlier as the senior officer was not present in the office. “We will soon summon the senior officer after obtaining necessary permissions from higher authorities to record his statement and verify his role,” the official added.
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