ACB arrests Panchayat Raj officials in Andhra Pradesh for accepting bribe

Officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) trapped Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) P. Gowtham and Works Inspector P. Santosh, who are working in the Mentada mandal engineering office of the Panchayat Raj department in the Vizianagaram district, while they were allegedly accepting a ₹1.20 lakh bribe from the complainant.

The accused reportedly demanded a ₹1.30 lakh bribe to clear the pending bills for the construction works taken up under the Gram Panchayat General Funds and the 15th Finance Commission Fund.

The AEElater reduced the bribe amount to ₹1.20 lakh. Following a complaint, the ACB Vizianagaram officials registered a case against the two officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and caught them red-handed while they were accepting the bribe at the DEE office in Gajapathinagaram on Saturday (March 28, 2026).

The accused AEE and the Works Inspector were arrested and would be produced in the ACB Court in Visakhapatnam, the ACB officials said.