Live Bribery Expose at Madhya Pradesh Janta Darshan Reveals Municipal Corruption Scheme

The conversation astonished everyone present in the hall, including the mayor. (Representational)

Morena, Madhya Pradesh:

A standard Janta Darshan at the Morena Municipal Corporation in Madhya Pradesh transformed into an extraordinary revelation of corruption on Tuesday. During the public hearing, a young man seeking building permit approval made a phone call in front of the mayor, which resulted in the recipient openly listing bribe demands and detailing a complete "rate list" of officials over speakerphone.

This remarkable incident occurred on November 11, when Pankaj Rathore, a local resident who had been repeatedly visiting the Municipal Corporation for building permission, approached Mayor Sharda Solanki during the public hearing session. He claimed that a middleman had been consistently demanding money, allegedly on behalf of municipal officials.

To substantiate his allegations, Rathore called this individual while in the presence of the mayor and other officers. When the call was placed on speaker mode, the person immediately began outlining the bribe amounts supposedly required to expedite the file approval process. According to the call, the demands included Rs 10,000 for Sharma EE, Rs 4,000 for "someone with a photo," Rs 1,000 for Ajay Parihar, and Rs 3,000 for himself. The total solicitation ranged from Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000.

A video recording of this phone conversation has subsequently emerged, heightening the controversy. During the call, Rathore can be heard asking, "My slip has been issued, what should I do now?" The individual on the other end responded, "Send the file in PDF and pay the money over the phone," before casually breaking down the alleged bribe-sharing arrangement among officials.

The revelations left everyone in the hall shocked, including Mayor Solanki, who immediately ordered action to be taken.

Municipal Commissioner Satendra Singh Dhakare confirmed he had reviewed the recording and stated, "Show-cause notices have been issued to the employees and officers whose names were mentioned. Further action will be taken after reviewing their responses."

He added that information was being gathered about the person on the other end of the call. "The complainant spoke to one of his agents. We are also investigating the basis on which the agent was making such allegations."

Dhakare emphasized that the building permission process is entirely digital. "There is no requirement to visit the Municipal Corporation. Applications are submitted through an architect, fees are generated online, and permissions are issued digitally. As of the complaint date, no online application from him was found in our records," he explained. The commissioner described the nature of the complaint as "beyond comprehension" but assured that a thorough investigation would be conducted.