📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Billjones94
Crime
ACB arrests forest guard for Rs 5,000 bribe in Banswara forest lease case
✍️ Amar Ujala · Rajasthan
🗓 01 Oct 2026, 04:31 PM
👁 10
The Anti‑Corruption Bureau in Rajasthan’s Banswara district arrested forest guard Bhupesh Patidar for accepting a Rs 5,000 bribe to expedite a forest lease file.
Banswara’s Anti‑Corruption Bureau (ACB) detained forest guard Bhupesh Patidar after a sting operation revealed he accepted a cash payment of Rs 5,000 to push forward a forest lease application. The alleged bribe was taken to accelerate the processing of the lease paperwork, which is required for commercial use of forest land.
According to the ACB, Patidar was caught red‑handed when he attempted to hand over the money to a middleman representing the applicant. The bureau’s officials seized the cash and recorded the interaction as part of their ongoing anti‑corruption drive in the state’s forest department.
Patidar, who has been serving in the forest department for several years, has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He will appear before the district court for further legal proceedings, while the ACB continues to investigate any additional officials who may have been involved.
The incident underscores the ACB’s heightened focus on curbing corruption in land and forest‑related transactions, a sector that has historically been vulnerable to illicit practices.
According to the ACB, Patidar was caught red‑handed when he attempted to hand over the money to a middleman representing the applicant. The bureau’s officials seized the cash and recorded the interaction as part of their ongoing anti‑corruption drive in the state’s forest department.
Patidar, who has been serving in the forest department for several years, has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He will appear before the district court for further legal proceedings, while the ACB continues to investigate any additional officials who may have been involved.
The incident underscores the ACB’s heightened focus on curbing corruption in land and forest‑related transactions, a sector that has historically been vulnerable to illicit practices.