Vadodara: A sessions court on Tuesday sentenced an in-charge executive engineer to three years’ imprisonment for demanding and accepting a bribe to clear bills for a check dam project, bringing a 17-year-old corruption case to a close.The convict, Deepak Brahmbhatt, was posted in the irrigation department when he was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in Sep 2009. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by contractor Madanchand Jain.Jain had submitted a tender in 2008 for constructing check dams in Naswadi taluka and was awarded a work order worth Rs 2.50 crore. Despite completing three check-dams, his bills were not cleared.In Sep 2009, Jain met Brahmbhatt in the irrigation department office at Kuber Bhavan here to get clearance of his bills and the refund of his security deposit. Brahmbhatt allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 4.50 lakh.Jain told Brahmbhatt he would consider the demand and left the office. The engineer later called Jain and reduced the demand to Rs 3 lakh. Jain then offered to pay Rs 2 lakh immediately and the rest after the bills were cleared, the prosecution said.Brahmbhatt told Jain to meet him again at his office and to bring an additional Rs 10,000, purportedly meant for a supervisor. Jain then approached the ACB.An ACB team laid a trap on Sep 23, 2009, at the irrigation department office and caught Brahmbhatt accepting the Rs 10,000. He was arrested on the spot.“After considering all the evidence, the court found Brahmbhatt guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sentenced him to three years in jail,” said govt pleader Bhavik Purohit.
