Excise Inspector caught taking bribe of Rs 3.25 lakh
   Date :17-May-2024

Excise Inspector caught  
 
 
 
Staff Reporter
 
 
ANTI-CORRUPTION Bureau(ACB) on Thursday caught Ravindra Laxman Kokare, Inspector, State Excise Department, red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 3.25 lakh cash from a restaurateur to forward his file to superior (s) for issuance of new FL-III licence for sale of beer and Indian-made foreign liquor. A resident of Friends Colony, Katol Road, the 31-year-old restaurateur, who owns a bar and restaurant in Kalmeshwar area, had applied for FL-III licence. Inspector Kokare (49), attached to the E-Division of the State Excise Department, demanded Rs four lakh from him to forward his file to the Excise Superintendent after verification on Wednesday. After the restaurateur negotiated with Kokare, he asked him to settle the deal for Rs 3.25 lakh and bring the cash near Traffic Park in Dharampeth.
 
Fed up of the harassment meted out to him by Kokare, the restaurateur lodged a complaint with the ACB officials. After verification of the complaint, the bureau officers laid a trap and caught Kokare red-handed immediately after he accepted the bribe. A team of bureau officers conducted searches at Kokare’s office and residential premises. A case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against Kokare at Sitabuldi Police Station. The trap was laid by PI Praveen Lakde and his team comprising Sarang Balpande, Asmita Meshram, Vikas Sayare, and Raju Jambhulkar under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (ACB) Rahul Maknikar and Additional SP Sanjay Purandare.