Thane, April 10 A medical officer from the Thane district of Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 for issuing a medical certificate required for the renewal of a gun licence, an official said here on Friday.
The accused has been identified as Dr. Anil Patil, who is stationed at the Murbad Rural Hospital, according to the Thane unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
According to the ACB, a man had approached the Murbad hospital seeking a medical certificate required for renewing his father's revolver licence.
"An ambulance driver, Mahendra Hindurao, allegedly demanded Rs 3,000 on behalf of the medical officer to obtain the certificate. The amount was later negotiated down to Rs 2,000," said inspector Rupali Pol from the ACB.
The complainant, unwilling to pay the bribe, approached the ACB, after which a trap was laid at the hospital premises on Thursday.
"Our team caught the medical officer red-handed while accepting the bribe amount. The ambulance driver is currently at large, and a search is underway to locate him," said Pol.
The ACB has launched an investigation to determine if more individuals were involved and to verify if similar illegal demands were made from other applicants, she added, stating that Patil has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
