ESIC manager demands bribe for widow’s pension

Surat: Manager of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) was arrested on Tuesday for taking Rs 20,000 bribe to begin pension for a woman whose husband had died in a road accident in December 2019. The complainant in the case was the woman’s son.
The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) nabbed Virendrasingh Pal at the entry gate of ESIC office in Lal Darwaja area soon after he accepted Rs 20,000 from the complainant. The trap was laid by B J Sarvaiya, police inspector, in supervision of N P Gohil, assistant director, ACB.
The complainant’s 52-yer-old father, a salesperson in a private company, had died in a road accident three months back. He was insured under ESIC. Following his death his family approached the ESIC to start pension for his wife. Accused Pal was responsible for scrutinizing the pension applications.
According to complaint file with ACB, Pal had demanded Rs 20,000 from the complainant to complete the scrutiny and verification, which is mandatory for approval of the pension. Pal had allegedly witheld the application for want of money. As the complainant did not wish to pay the bribe money he contacted ACB.
“Pal did not complete the scrutiny process and demanded money to complete it. We will also search Pal’s residence to collect details of his wealth,” said an ACB officer.