The team of Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Jabalpur trapped and arrested a village sarpanch while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 near the Seoni Bus Stand, on Monday. The accused, Ramgopal Deheria (32), is the Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Palari in Seoni district. He was caught red-handed while taking the bribe from a local resident. According to EOW officials, complainant Shivcharan Nagvanshi (40), a resident of Palari village, had submitted a written complaint to the EOW office in Jabalpur on March 2, 2026. In his complaint, he informed that he had been living in a small hut in the village for the past four to five years and had no other place to stay.

 

When he attempted to carry out repair work on his hut, the sarpanch demanded Rs 15,000 to allow the work to proceed and not create obstacles. After verifying the complaint, the EOW found the bribery demand to be genuine. Acting on the complaint, EOW team laid a trap on March 9, 2026 and caught the accused sarpanch red-handed while accepting the bribe amount. The bribe money was recovered from the accused. EOW Jabalpur registered a case against the accused Sarpanch under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amended 2018) and further investigation is underway.