Agri ministry official arrested while obtaining bribe of

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior official of the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, for allegedly demanding and obtaining a bribe of ₹1 lakh for issuance of an AGMARK (Agriculture Marketing) license. Another officer from the same department has also been booked by the agency in the case.
AGMARK is a certification mark for agricultural produce, assuring that they conform to a grade standard notified by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch began its investigation on the receipt of a complaint from a Thane-based businessman on August 30 against the two officials – senior marketing officer Vishal Talwadkar and marketing officer Guljar Sonawane, both posted at Nashik, alleging that they had demanded ₹11 lakh for the issuance of an AGMARK license, agency sources said. The complainant runs a ghee production unit in Dhule.
The agency had verified the allegations made in the complaint on August 30 in the presence of independent witnesses discreetly, the sources said. After verification of the complaint, the CBI had set up a trap in which Talwadkar was allegedly apprehended while demanding and accepting the bribe sum of ₹1 lakh for himself and Sonawane, according to the CBI. Sonawane, however, was not present at the spot when the transaction took place, the sources said.
The arrested officer has been remanded to CBI’s custody till Thursday. The agency also carried out searches at the residential and official premises of the accused that resulted in the recovery of incriminating documents, CBI sources said.
The verification of the allegations mentioned in the complaint allegedly revealed that Talwadkar, after negotiation, agreed to accept a bribe of ₹1 lakh from the complainant, a CBI source said. “This established the demand by accused Talwadkar and the agreement between the two accused officials for demanding and accepting the undue advantage,” a CBI source said.
The contents of the complaint and the verification conducted in the presence of ‘panch’ witnesses had prima-facie allegedly disclosed commission of offences punishable under section 61(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (criminal conspiracy) and section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) that refers to the demand of an undue advantage by any public servant, against the two accused officials, CBI sources said. The agency had subsequently booked the two accused officials in the case on August 31, after the verification of the complaint.