The Jabalpur unit of Lokayukta Police caught a patwari red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 for processing a land mutation case in Narsinghpur district, on Monday. The accused has been identified as Ghanshyam Garhwal (39), posted as Patwari of Halka No. 41, Murdai village in Gotegaon tehsil. The action was carried out under the directions of Yogesh Deshmukh and the guidance of Manoj Singh as part of the anti-corruption campaign being conducted by the Lokayukta organization. According to officials, the complainant Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Padariya village in Gotegaon tehsil of Narsinghpur district lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta police alleging that Patwari Ghanshyam Garhwal was demanding a bribe for completing name transfer of agricultural land purchased by his mother, Mamta Devi.

 

The complainant charged that his mother had purchased seven acres of land in Muar village on April 29, 2026, and the mutation process was pending. The accused patwari demanded Rs 10,000 to process the case. Following the complaint, the Lokayukta conducted a verification exercise during which the accused reportedly agreed to accept Rs 5,000. Acting on the verified complaint, a trap was organized on Monday. The accused, Ghanshyam Garhwal was apprehended while accepting the bribe amount at his private office located near the Mahindra showroom in Teela, Gotegaon. Lokayukta police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 7, 13(1)(b), and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) while further legal proceedings are underway. The trap operation was led by Lokayukta Trap Laying Officer Inspector Rahul Gajbhiye, along with Inspector Jitendra Yadav and other members of the Jabalpur Lokayukta team.