A senior clerk in Mumbai’s law department was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) while allegedly accepting Rs 5,000 as part of a Rs 35,000 demand linked to the processing of a pending salary bill, according to a report by the Times of India. The trap was conducted on October 13 at Naigaon after the complainant approached the agency over the alleged demand.
The accused was identified as 40-year-old Badrinath Shivhari Thorve, a senior clerk in the law department. The ACB alleged that Thorve demanded Rs 35,000 from a 35-year-old complainant whose salary bill had remained pending after his sick leave was regularised.
The complainant had taken 294 days of sick leave. Of this period, 248 days were approved as paid leave, while the remaining days were treated as leave without pay. According to the ACB, the salary bill connected to the leave-related service matter had not been processed, and the accused allegedly sought money to facilitate the process.
The ACB said Thorve had already accepted Rs 10,000 from the complainant before demanding a further Rs 25,000. The complainant approached the bureau on September 16, unwilling to pay the remaining amount. The agency subsequently conducted verification on September 16 and October 7 before arranging the trap.
During the operation on October 13, the ACB allegedly caught Thorve accepting another instalment of Rs 5,000. The agency seized the alleged bribe money and the accused’s mobile phone. A search of Thorve’s residence was underway, according to the report.
The sequence highlights how delays in routine personnel administration can create points of interaction between government employees and citizens seeking access to salary-related entitlements. In this case, the dispute involved the treatment of extended sick leave, the distinction between paid leave and leave without pay, and the processing of a pending salary bill. The supplied report does not establish whether the bill was ultimately cleared or whether any departmental action was taken beyond the ACB operation.
The ACB said a case was being registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The section applies to a public servant accused of accepting or attempting to obtain an undue advantage in connection with the performance of public duty. Further legal and departmental action will follow the registration and investigation of the case.
