Two days to retire, Malegaon civic chief trips over Rs 80,000-worth of grass, lands in ACB net

The work was routine: clearing grass and repairing water pipelines in Malegaon. The bills came to Rs 20 lakh. To clear them, a contractor told the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), three officials of the Malegaon Municipal Corporation wanted a 4 per cent commission.

On Thursday, the ACB’s Nashik unit arrested all three: Municipal Commissioner Ravindra Jadhav, his personal assistant Nilesh Patil and the corporation’s accountant Harish Dimber. They are accused of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000, which is 4 per cent of Rs 20 lakh.

Jadhav was due to retire on October 31, two days later.

How the trap was laid

According to the ACB, the complaint concerned bills for two works the contractor had carried out for the corporation. The bureau verified the allegations before laying a trap on Thursday, when the three were arrested.

“The complaint was received earlier, following which we verified the allegations and laid a trap. We are investigating the matter,” an ACB official said.

A case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

What investigators are looking at now

The ACB is also examining whether Jadhav had a role in other possible cases. Investigators have searched his residence and seized electronic devices for forensic examination. They want to establish whether the devices hold information relevant to the investigation.

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“The investigation is at a preliminary stage. We will interrogate the accused to determine their individual roles and examine whether there were any other instances,” an official said.

The bills in this case were for routine works. The corporation Jadhav headed handles far more money. Its draft budget for 2026-27 is Rs 1,111 crore, with projected revenue of Rs 599 crore and government grants of Rs 512 crore.

Not the first civic chief

In October 2025, the ACB arrested Jalna Municipal Corporation commissioner and administrator Santosh Khandekar while he was allegedly accepting Rs 10 lakh from a government contractor. A court remanded him in police custody. The contractor alleged that Khandekar had earlier taken Rs 40 lakh in connection with work orders and payment approvals.

In a separate case in August 2025, the Enforcement Directorate arrested former Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation commissioner Anilkumar Pawar in a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal construction approvals. The Bombay High Court later declared his arrest illegal and quashed the arrest and remand orders. The Supreme Court declined to interfere.