Mumbai: The officers of the Mumbai Unit of Anti Corruption Bureau have arrested two senior officials from the Fisheries Department and a private person in a bribery case. The accused public servants had allegedly demanded a bribe from a person to clear his pending licensing issue.

The accused persons have been identified as Pulkesh Kadam, Assistant Commissioner, Fisheries Department, Neeraj Chaskar, Assistant Fisheries Development Officer, both posted at Bandra office and private person Sanjay Dhanaji Koli.

According to the ACB, the complainant owns his a fishing fiber boat and has port license of Mumbai city for fishing. The complainant had applied to the office of the Assistant Commissioner, Entertainment, Administrative Building, Bandra East, Mumbai on 09/10/2023 for canceling the earlier Mumbai license of the fishing port and transferring the said port license to Alibag. Despite completion of related documents by the complainant till January 2025, the said work is still pending.

The complainant has alleged that on 19/02/2025 Sanjay Koli contacted the complainant on his mobile phone and asked him to come to the department office next day and pay Rs 15000 to Kasam and Chaskar and only after that his work will be done. As the complainant did not want to pay bribe to the said public servant and private person, he visited the Anti-Corruption Department, Mumbai Division on Thursday and lodged a complaint.

"During the verification action on 20/02/2025 in pursuance of the said complaint once the demand for bribe got established, a trap was laid and accused persons were caught red-handed accepting bribe amount of Rs 15000 from the complainant. A case was registered under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the said public servants and private person," the ACB said in a statement.