Bihar vigilance team arrests revenue employee, tout in bribery case

Patna, May 20 (IANS) In a major anti-corruption operation in Bihar’s Saharsa district, the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) arrested a revenue employee and his alleged middleman while they were allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 16,000 on Wednesday.
The accused have been identified as Shyam Prasad Singh and Phulchand Sah.
According to a VIB official, the two were caught red-handed during an operation conducted by a vigilance team that arrived from Patna.
The operation was launched following a written complaint filed by Mohammad Hayat, who alleged that a bribe was being demanded in exchange for issuing a land revenue receipt.
The complaint stated that the revenue employee had refused to carry out the official work unless the illegal payment was made.
After verifying the allegations, the Vigilance Investigation Bureau organised a trap operation and apprehended the accused while they were allegedly accepting the bribe amount.
A case has been registered by the VIB under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 61(2)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in connection with the incident.
The official said that both accused are currently being interrogated and further legal action is underway.
The arrested individuals are expected to be produced before the Vigilance Court in Patna on Thursday.
The Vigilance Investigation Bureau of Bihar has been continuously carrying out anti-graft operations across the state to nab corrupt officials and employees.
On May 15, a Junior Engineer was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe during an operation conducted by the VIB in Sitamarhi.
According to an official, the accused, Vijay Kumar Sharma, was posted as a Junior Engineer at the Pupri Nagar Parishad in Sitamarhi.
He had allegedly been demanding a bribe of Rs 1.45 lakh from a contractor, Raj Bhushan, in connection with payments related to a departmental project.
Following repeated demands, the contractor approached the Vigilance Investigation Bureau in Patna and lodged a formal complaint.
On May 8, the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) arrested a clerk posted at the Sono Primary Health Centre in Jamui while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 37,000.
The accused, identified as Rupesh Kumar, is accused of demanding money from an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) in exchange for clearing her pending salary arrears.
–IANS
ajk/pgh
