Education department official arrested while taking bribe

NAGPUR: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested an education department official while allegedly taking a bribe from a retired teacher. Pramod Jhangoji Sontakke (53), superintendent of the Pay and Provident Fund unit in the education department (secondary) of the Nagpur Zilla Parishad, was caught red-handed, the ACB said in a release.

The victim, a 60-year-old retired headmaster, was entitled to receive Rs 13.30 lakh as encashment of his earned leave, but due to certain issues, his bills had been returned from the Treasury.

Sontakke allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 to expedite the process of revising the bills. After some negotiation, the amount was reduced to Rs 40,000, the ACB said. After the headmaster lodged a complaint, a trap was laid and Sontakke was arrested, it said.