Principal caught taking Rs 31,000 bribe from school van drivers
The Bharuch ACB team raided the school in Sarsad village of Jhagadiya taluka and caught the principal,
Kalpesh Patel
, red-handed while conversing with the drivers regarding the bribe and accepting Rs 31,000.
ACB inspector MJ Shinde said Patel was drawing Rs 72,000 as a salary, and his wife is also posted as a govt teacher in Bharuch. He was the principal there since 2017.
According to details of the complaint lodged by one of the school van drivers, Patel employed him to transport school children under the govt scheme.
The accused demanded a commission of Rs 3,000 per month from the bills passed under this scheme. This included Rs 9,000 for three months of the current year from the complainant, Rs 13,000 from another van driver of the same school for the year 2024, and Rs 9,000 for three months of 2025, totalling Rs 31,000.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant contacted the ACB, which laid a trap under the supervision of the agency's Vadodara unit deputy director PH Bhesaniya.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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There were two vans running under the govt transportation school through which both the drivers transported around 66 students daily in a couple of rounds.
Under the scheme, free or subsidized transport facility is provided to students, particularly those attending government and grant-aided schools, to ensure access to education. Sources said students whose schools are located more than five km away from their homes are eligible under this scheme.
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