In a decisive move against corruption, the Bhopal Lokayukta division apprehended Shahabuddin Siddiqui, Assistant Town Planner at the Bhopal Development Authority (BDA), for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. The trap operation, conducted at the BDA office in Bhopal on Friday, was carried out under the strict directives of Director General of Police, Lokayukta, Yogesh Deshmukh, to combat corrupt practices. The case stems from a complaint filed by Ghanshyam Rathore, son of Bhagirath Rathore, a resident of Berasia Road, Bhopal. Rathore had applied for the transfer of his house’s title at the

 

BDA office three to four months ago. He alleged that Siddiqui demanded Rs 10,000 as a bribe, in addition to the prescribed fees, to process the name transfer. Following Rathore’s complaint, the Lokayukta verified the allegations, confirming the bribe demand. On June 13, a successful trap operation was executed, catching Siddiqui red-handed while accepting the Rs 10,000 bribe from Rathore at the BDA office. The operation was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police R K Singh, with a team comprising Deputy Superintendent B M Dwivedi, Head Constables Yashwant Singh Thakur, Chaitanya Pratap Singh and Mukesh Patel along with Constables Manmohan Shahu, driver Amit Vishwakarma and Manish Bhatt. The bribe amount was recovered, and legal proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act are underway against Siddiqui.