Ahmednagar Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Jawale absconding after ACB action in Rs 8-lakh bribe case

Jalna: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has acted against Ahmednagar Municipal Commissioner Dr Pankaj Jawale (47), a resident of Ahmednagar, hailing from district Beed. His office and residence have been sealed.

He demanded Rs 8-lakh bribe through clerk-cum-personal assistant Shekhar Deshpande (48). They got wind of the ACB squad and escaped. The ACB registered an offence at the Tofkhana Police Station and was searching for the duo.

A 41-year-old developer lodged a complaint with the ACB. An ACB squad verified it on June 19 and 20. He has been charged with demanding Rs 9-lakh bribe but later agreeing to accept Rs 8 lakh. A construction firm needed permission.

According to the ACB, the complainant is a partner in 4K Realty. He bought a plot at a village near Ahmednagar and wanted to build a project on it. A permission was sought for the plan in March 2024.

Jawale, through Deshpande, sought the bribe to issue the permission. The complainant then approached the ACB.

Deshpande demanded Rs 8 lakh in front of a witness. It was proved, during the verification, that Jawale was encouraging Deshpande to demand the bribe.

The action was taken under the guidance of SP Sandeep Atole and Addl SP Mukund Agahav. A team comprising DySP Kiran Bidve, PI Shankar Mutekar, police personnel Gajanan Ghaywat, Shivaji Jamdhade, Ganesh Cheke, Ganesh Bujade, Shivling Khule, Atish Tidke, Gajanan Kharat, Vitthal Kapse and Bhalchandra Binorkar took the action.