Forest ranger caught taking bribe

Dhar (MP), Apr 9 (PTI) A forest ranger here was on Wednesday caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a contractor for the grant of permission to construct a road through the jungle, an official said.
The complainant got the contract from the Public Works Department to construct a 3.5 km road from Bagh Caves to Pandu Caves, of which a stretch of 2 km passes through the forest in Manawar area of Dhar district, said Lokayukta Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Talaan.
Ranger Vaibhav Upadhyaya allegedly demanded Rs 2.96 lakh -- 3 per cent of the contract amount -- for granting permission, and received the first instalment Rs 96,000 from the contractor some days ago, the official said.
After receiving a complaint, the anti-corruption Lokayukta police laid a trap and Upadhyaya was caught while allegedly accepting a second tranche of Rs 1 lakh, said Talaan.
A case was registered and further investigation was underway, he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)