Pimpri Chinchwad, 3rd September 2026: The Pune unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday caught a clerk employed with the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) while allegedly accepting a bribe of тВ╣1.20 lakh from a property owner in Sangvi.
The accused was identified as Umesh Subrao Kute, 37, a Class III clerk attached to the Property Tax Collection Department at PCMCтАЩs Sangvi divisional office.
According to an ACB, the 59-year-old complainant had purchased a plot in Pimple Gurav and constructed a three-storey building on it. On August 20, 2026, he submitted an application to the Sangvi divisional office seeking a fresh property-tax assessment.
Kute allegedly told the complainant that the buildingтАЩs estimated annual property tax would be тВ╣91,472, but offered to reduce it to below тВ╣50,000 in exchange for тВ╣1.50 lakh. Following negotiations, the alleged demand was reduced to тВ╣1.30 lakh.
The complainant subsequently approached the Pune ACB and lodged a complaint. During a verification exercise conducted in the presence of independent witnesses on September 3, Kute allegedly reiterated the demand for тВ╣1.30 lakh before agreeing to accept тВ╣1.20 lakh.
The ACB then laid a trap and allegedly caught Kute red-handed while accepting тВ╣1.20 lakh from the complainant on Swimming Tank Road in Anand Nagar, Sangvi, at around 2 pm. He was taken into custody.
The process of registering a case against Kute at Sangvi Police Station under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was underway till late at night.
Police Inspector Shailaja Shinde led the operation under the supervision of senior ACB officials. Further investigation is in progress.
