Pune: Two Groundwater Survey Department Officials in ACB Net Over Rs 2 Lakh Bribe

Pune, 24th April 2026: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Pune unit, on Friday caught a junior geologist allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh and detained a senior geologist in connection with the same case linked to issuance of a groundwater survey report required for a construction project.

The accused have been identified as Divakar Namdev Dhote (53), Senior Geologist posted with the Groundwater Survey Department at Shivajinagar, and Priyanka Sandipan Ghule (39), Junior Geologist in the same office.

According to the ACB, the complainant, a 46-year-old builder, had applied to PMRDA for a building completion certificate. PMRDA had asked him to submit a groundwater survey report, following which he approached the Groundwater Survey Department in Pune.

Officials said Ghule allegedly initially demanded Rs 2.5 lakh on behalf of Dhote for issuing the required report. Based on the complaint, the ACB conducted a verification exercise on April 22.

During the verification, Ghule allegedly asked the complainant to meet Dhote. ACB officials said Dhote later agreed, in the presence of independent witnesses, to accept Rs 2 lakh after negotiations and instructed that the money be handed over to Ghule.

Following this, the ACB laid a trap on April 24. Ghule was allegedly caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount of Rs 2 lakh from the complainant. Dhote was subsequently taken into custody from his office.

The ACB said the process of registering a case against both accused under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was underway at Shivajinagar Police Station.

The trap operation was supervised by Police Inspectors Suhas Hattekar and Khanderao Ranjve of the ACB Pune unit.