Education board officer held for taking bribe to appoint writer for Class 10 student

Thane: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested an assistant superintendent of the Maharashtra education board for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 to facilitate the appointment of a writer for an SSC student with a learning disability, an official said. The accused, Sudam Lotan Chavan (57), was serving as assistant superintendent and branch officer at the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education's Mumbai divisional office at Vashi in Navi Mumbai.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmaraj Sonke (ACB, Navi Mumbai) said the complainant in the case, a private teacher, had approached the board office after being authorised by the mother of an SSC (Class 10) student with a learning disability to apply for a writer for the February 2026 examination.

"While the staff initially asked the complainant to pay a prescribed fee of Rs 200 and submit the application, the accused allegedly called him aside and demanded Rs 10,000 for arranging a writer and effecting a subject change for the SSC exam," Sonke said. Chavan later agreed to accept Rs 8,000 for approving the application, the police officer said.

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Following the bribe demand, the private teacher lodged a complaint with the ACB on February 12, and the anti-graft agency decided to lay a trap. "In the trap laid by an ACB team, the accused was caught while accepting Rs 8,000, comprising 16 currency notes of Rs 500 each from the complainant," Sonke said. A case was registered against the assistant superintendent at the Vashi Police Station.