Ahmedabad: An alleged demand for a Rs 36,000 bribe to issue fire-safety NOCs for six buildings led the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to Ahmedabad’s chief fire officer.The agency arrested Amitkumar Dongre and alleged middleman Bhavsinh Zala on Friday. Zala was allegedly caught accepting the money near Vijay Char Rasta in Memnagar. The ACB claimed that he collected the money on Dongre’s instructions.The ACB said a fire-safety officer posted in Ahmedabad had applied through the Gujarat govt portal for NOCs for six buildings. The accused allegedly sought Rs 6,000 for each clearance.After the complainant approached the Vadodara City ACB police station, the agency arranged a trap in the presence of two govt witnesses. Officers positioned themselves near Yash Aqua Complex at Vijay Char Rasta in Memnagar.
Past cases of firemen caught in ACB net in Gujarat
Zala, 31, met the complainant there and discussed the payment before accepting the money, the ACB said. Officers caught him with the money during the operation.Investigators alleged that Zala then contacted Dongre, 47, a Class-I officer. According to the agency, their conversation indicated that Dongre had authorised the demand and acceptance of the bribe. Officers subsequently arrested Dongre.The agency has initiated legal proceedings against the two under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.The case follows other ACB cases over alleged bribes for fire safety clearances in Gujarat. In Aug 2024, the agency caught Rajkot’s then acting chief fire officer Anil Maru allegedly accepting Rs 1.8 lakh to grant a fire clearance.Maru had taken charge around two months earlier, succeeding Ilesh Kher. Police arrested Kher in connection with the TRP Game Zone fire of May 2024, which killed 33 people.
