Mumbai, February 13 A clerk of the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration, arrested in Mantralaya by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000, was also found to have kept another Rs 42,000 in his office, significantly exceeding the Rs 10,000 limit for individuals entering the state secretariat, an official said on Friday.
Raju Sampat Dheringe (40), who was posted in the office of FDA minister Narhari Zirwal to handle appeals, was apprehended on Thursday in a trap on the second floor of Mantralaya.
Dheringe was taken into custody while accepting Rs 35,000 from a man whose medical license for a store in Antop Hill had been suspended by the Joint Commissioner of the FDA, and who sought a stay on the action.
"Dheringe initially demanded Rs 50,000, but eventually settled for Rs 35,000 after negotiations. He was apprehended while accepting this revised amount. However, a search of his office revealed an additional Rs 42,000. According to regulations, no person can carry more than Rs 10,000 inside the Mantralaya complex, so a detailed investigation is underway to determine how Dheringe possessed this amount," the official said.
The investigation will cover all angles, including whether this additional amount was also part of a bribe demand, he added.
The arrested clerk has been remanded in police custody until February 16, the official informed.
