Panvel RTO Agent Held by ACB for Allegedly Demanding Rs 4,500 Bribe

The Navi Mumbai unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has apprehended a 62-year-old Regional Transport Office (RTO) agent outside the Panvel RTO office for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4,500. The accused, identified as Vilas Ganpati Sengar, a resident of New Panvel, had allegedly sought the money from a 37-year-old driving school operator to facilitate the transfer of an auto-rickshaw permit.

The incident unfolded when the driving school operator submitted the necessary documents for a routine permit transfer at the Panvel RTO. Upon receiving the paperwork, Sengar allegedly informed the complainant that completing the process would require a payment of Rs 4,500, claiming that the amount was meant for both himself and a public servant.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the driving school operator approached the Navi Mumbai ACB on August 11 to report the extortion attempt. Bureau officials subsequently carried out an inquiry to verify the allegations and confirmed that Sengar had indeed demanded the bribe before organising an operation to catch him in the act.

A trap was laid outside the Panvel RTO office premises on September 1. ACB officials took up positions and monitored the area as the complainant met Sengar. At approximately 1:56 pm, Sengar accepted the marked currency notes totalling Rs 4,500 from the driving school operator. The ACB team moved in immediately and caught the agent on the spot.