Navi Mumbai: The Belapur court has rejected the bail application of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) deputy secretary Deepak Awate (40) and sanitation officer Sameer Mhatre (55). The two were caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.4 lakh from a contractor on May 19. Both accused have been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody until June 5 and are currently lodged at Taloja prison.
Details of the Bribe Demand
According to ACB deputy SP Dharmaraj Sonake, the complainant contractor was awarded a work order for desilting drainage channels in the APMC market area along with annual maintenance from October 2025 to April 2026. The annual billing amount for the contract was Rs 11.92 lakh. The accused officers allegedly demanded Rs 1.46 lakh as a 15% commission on the billing amount of Rs 9.78 lakh, excluding 18% GST. After negotiations, they settled for Rs 1.40 lakh.
Trap and Arrests
Sonake explained that on May 19 afternoon, a trap was laid on the first floor of the APMC main administrative building in the onion-potato market, Sector 18, Vashi, where the offices of Awate and Mhatre are located adjacently. Mhatre was caught red-handed while accepting the Rs 1.4 lakh bribe in his office from the complainant contractor. He was arrested immediately, followed by the arrest of Awate, who was present in his adjacent office.
Legal Proceedings
An FIR was registered at the APMC police station against both accused officers under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act for the offense of a public servant accepting or demanding a bribe to perform official duty and punishment for abetment. The court's rejection of bail underscores the seriousness of the charges.
