Aarey CEO, assistant held for ‘taking’ Rs 50,000 bribe from slumdweller

MUMBAI: Nathu Vithal Rathod, CEO of state-owned Aarey Dairy, was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Monday for allegedly seeking a Rs 50,000 bribe from a slumdweller in Aarey Colony. Rathod was held after his office assistant, Arvind Tiwari, was arrested while allegedly accepting the sum on his behalf.
The ACB’s Mumbai unit booked them under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The post of the CEO is of Class I rank, on par with an assistant collector.
According to the ACB, the complainant has a house near Unit 32 inside Aarey Colony in Goregaon (East). He had sought permission to repair it before monsoon. Any repair or reconstruction in Aarey requires sanction from the CEO’s office.
ACB sources said Rathod asked the complainant to meet Tiwari, who allegedly demanded Rs 50,000. Police said on May 14, the complainant, who did not wish to pay the bribe, approached the ACB’s office to lodge a complaint. On Monday, the complainant went along with ACB officials in mufti who laid a trap for Tiwari. They took him to Rathod’s Worli office and questioned them together. Tiwari said he took the bribe at Rathod’s behest. Later, ACB officials carried out a search of both their houses, said sources.
Environmentalist Stalin D said, “A thorough investigation must be done.” In 2011, the then CEO L R Bhosale was caught by ACB while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to award a contract to a private contractor.