Udaipur, May 30: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a female accounts officer of the Women and Child Development Department’s Gogunda unit in Udaipur for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹5,000. The officer, Nutan Pandya, was caught red-handed while taking the money from two Anganwadi workers in exchange for clearing their pending honorariums.
According to the ACB, Pandya had been demanding ₹2,500 each from two workers to process payments that had been pending for over seven months. Following a formal complaint, the bureau laid a trap and apprehended her during the act on Friday.
Caught in the Act
The operation was carried out under the supervision of Additional SP Anant Kumar. As soon as the officer received the marked notes, ACB officials moved in and arrested her on the spot.
Sources within the department revealed that Pandya had previously faced allegations of demanding bribes in similar cases involving honorarium payments. Despite multiple complaints by Anganwadi workers to higher authorities, no significant action was taken, prompting them to approach the ACB.
Suspected of Wider Irregularities
In addition to bribery, Pandya is also suspected of irregularities in the disbursement of nutritional supplements under departmental schemes. The ACB has seized relevant documents from her office and is currently conducting a detailed interrogation.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Pandya had been involved in such corrupt practices for a considerable period, but only now has legal action been enforced.
Relief for Anganwadi Workers
The arrest has brought much-needed relief to Anganwadi workers who had been struggling for months to receive their rightful honorariums. The ACB is now expanding its probe to determine whether other officials or staff were also complicit in the alleged corruption.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.