Seven yrs later Tehsildar given RI for Rs 500 bribe

July 29: The City Civil and Sessions Court today sentenced a supervisor attached to the Tehsildar office at Chembur to one-and-a-half years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on him, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 500 seven years ago.

Sessions Judge for Prevention of Corruption Act, Mrudula R Bhatkar, convicted Bhaskar K Yewle on charges of bribery and ordered an additional RI for five months if Yewle failed to pay the fine. The incident dates way back to 1990, when the complainant in the case, Hariprasad R Sharma, had applied to the Tehsildar’s office for a no objection certificate (NOC) to get an electricity supply connection at his residence. In normal course, the NOC is issued to the applicant within a couple of weeks after the prescribed fee is paid.

However, Sharma was not issued the NOC for a long time, despite paying the fee. Yewle, who was handling the applications, did not forward Sharma’s application to the concerned authority. Instead, he asked Sharma to pay Rs 500 to “forward the application to the Tehsildar and recommend him to issue the NOC”.

Sharma, annoyed by the demand, had complained to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB). ACB officials laid a trap and had arrested Yewle red handed while accepting the bribe in his office on April 9, 1990. The operation was carried out in presence of special witnesses. Special public prosecutor S B Pawar represented the state while advocate Girish Kulkarni defended the accused.