📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / anuraghunka
Crime
Mandla CMO Gajanan Naphade nabbed taking ₹2 lakh bribe over ₹15 lakh bill
✍️ Amar Ujala · Madhya Pradesh
🗓 25 Sep 2026, 03:45 PM
👁 10
Mandla Municipal Commissioner Gajanan Naphade was caught accepting a ₹2 lakh bribe from the Lokayukta team while demanding ₹4 lakh to settle a pending ₹15 lakh bill.
The Lokayukta of Jabalpur seized the Municipal Commissioner of Mandla, Gajanan Naphade, in a sting operation after he was found accepting a cash bribe of ₹2 lakh. The arrest took place when the anti‑corruption officials confronted him during the first instalment of the illicit payment.
According to the Lokayukta’s report, Naphade had approached the officials claiming that a pending municipal bill of ₹15 lakh could be cleared only if an additional ₹4 lakh was paid to him. He collected ₹2 lakh from the officials as the initial amount before the team intervened.
Following the encounter, the Lokayukta team detained Naphade and initiated a formal investigation into the alleged misuse of his office. The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further legal action is expected.
Local authorities have urged municipal employees and contractors to cooperate with the investigation, emphasizing a zero‑tolerance stance on corruption within public bodies.
The incident adds to a series of recent anti‑corruption drives across Madhya Pradesh, highlighting the state’s intensified efforts to curb graft in local governance.
According to the Lokayukta’s report, Naphade had approached the officials claiming that a pending municipal bill of ₹15 lakh could be cleared only if an additional ₹4 lakh was paid to him. He collected ₹2 lakh from the officials as the initial amount before the team intervened.
Following the encounter, the Lokayukta team detained Naphade and initiated a formal investigation into the alleged misuse of his office. The case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further legal action is expected.
Local authorities have urged municipal employees and contractors to cooperate with the investigation, emphasizing a zero‑tolerance stance on corruption within public bodies.
The incident adds to a series of recent anti‑corruption drives across Madhya Pradesh, highlighting the state’s intensified efforts to curb graft in local governance.