Palghar, Jan 23 : The headmaster and clerk of a government school in Palghar district of Maharashtra have been arrested for allegedly demanding bribe from a woman teacher, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said.

Headmaster Nandakumar More (52) and clerk Pundalik Dalvi (53) of the ashram school in Jawhar taluka allegedly asked the teacher to give them Rs 100 per month for clearing her salary, the ACB said in a release.

They told the woman that she had a backlog of Rs 600 as commission for drawing salary for the last six months. In addition to this, they also demanded Rs 400 for clearing her dearness allowance (DA) arrears, it said.

The woman approached the ACB which laid a trap and nabbed the duo while they were accepting money from the woman at the school on Wednesday evening, the release said.

The two accused were subsequently arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, it added.

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Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.

According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.

The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.

Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.

The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.

The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.

Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.