Talathi held while accepting bribe of Rs 25,000

Pune: The state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Pune, on Tuesday arrested a talathi from Maan village in Mulshi taluka while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 for making changes in land ownership records.The accused, Santosh Rane (45) of Katraj, had allegedly demanded Rs 1.25 lakh from the complainant and had already accepted Rs 1 lakh. “He was caught red-handed while accepting the remaining Rs 25,000,” an ACB officer said.The officer said that after his father’s death, the complainant wanted to make changes to the ownership records of their ancestral land and add his and his brother’s names. When he approached Rane, the latter allegedly demanded Rs 1.25 lakh from him. He had already accepted Rs 1 lakh and was pressuring the complainant for the remaining Rs 25,000.The ACB verified the demand and laid a trap at the Maan talathi office on Tuesday. “Rane was arrested while accepting Rs 25,000 from the complainant,” the officer said.A case was registered against Rane with the Hinjewadi police.