Panaji, June 30 (IANS) A senior bureaucrat who has been booked for graft was suspended late Wednesday. The police, however, have not arrested the joint secretary-level officer.
Registrar of Companies P.K. Patidar, who was also in-charge of the animal husbandry department, was arrested Tuesday after he was caught red-handed receiving a bribe of Rs.15,000.
Police said the money was the first instalment of a total bribe of Rs.2.3 lakh Patidar had demanded from an animal feed contractor for clearing his bills.
‘Since the bribe amount was small, it was not necessary to arrest him,’ Superintendent of Police (Anti-Corruption Branch) Bosco George told reporters here Wednesday.
Patidar is a Goa Civil Service officer. His office and residential premises were searched by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau for nearly five hours.
Patidar has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
