ACB trap: Mining engineer (ME) Gopal Lal, middleman arrested for taking Rs 4 lakh bribe

Jaipur: The Kota branch of Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested mining engineer of Amet Gopal Lal Bacch after a middleman was caught taking a bribe of Rs 4 lakh on his behalf in Bijolia of Bhilwara district, ACB officials said. ME Gopal Lal was demanding the bribe to change the mining lease of the complainant from feldspar to granite. The ME had allegedly asked for Rs 25 lakh, of which 10 lakh was to be paid before the change in mining use and the remaining amount once the change was approved.

The middleman was identified as Lakshman Dhakad. “We had received a complaint that ME Gopal Lal Buchch was demanding Rs 25 lakh for changing mining lease. We verified the complaint and laid a trap. Rs 4 lakh was to be paid as the first instalment of the bribe,” said a senior ACB officer.

The officer added that a team of Kota ACB trapped Lakshman Dhakad in Bijolia of Bhilwara district.

“He was accepting Rs 4 lakh on behalf of ME Gopal Lal near Ashok Leyland showroom on Bijoliya highway. Both were booked and arrested under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” said the officer.

The ACB is carrying out raids at the residence and other places belonging to Gopal Lal in Begun, the town which the ME hails from and Bhilwara.