MUMBAI: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Worli unit, has registered a case against two private individuals for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe to facilitate the release of a car towed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).The accused have been identified as Santosh Sonu Patade (51) and Devendra Chandrakant Bandwadkar (52). A case has been registered against them under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.According to the ACB, the complainant’s Maruti Suzuki WagonR was towed by the BMC on July 14. Patade allegedly demanded ₹10,700 for releasing the vehicle. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB’s Worli unit on July 23 and lodged a complaint.During the verification process conducted the same day, Bandwadkar allegedly stated that payment had to be made for the vehicle’s release and, after negotiations, agreed to accept ₹6,000. Acting on the complaint, the ACB laid a trap on July 27 and allegedly caught Patade red-handed while accepting ₹6,000 on behalf of Bandwadkar without issuing any official government receipt. @Prachi Kumawat dump
