Patna, March 19 (IANS) The State Vigilance Unit (SVU) arrested a revenue officer (Kanungo) on graft charges in Bihar’s Supaul district on Wednesday.
The alleged Kanungo Vikas Kumar was caught red-handed accepting Rs 5,000 from the complainant and local resident Anupam Kumar.
The SVU led the trap in Gudiya Panchayat under Jadia police station limits on Wednesday and arrested him. An FIR has been registered at Vigilance Police Station Patna.
Complainant Anupam Kumar stated in his FIR that two to three years ago, during a land survey, discrepancies arose in the measurement of his father’s purchased land.
“The surveyor allegedly reduced the area in official records due to non-payment of bribes. When I approached Vikas Kumar to rectify the issue, he initially demanded Rs 10,000, later agreeing to Rs 5,000 after negotiation,” Anupam claimed.
Frustrated with the attitude of Kanungo Vikas Kumar, Anupam reported the case to Vigilance officials, who led a trap and caught the Kanungo accepting the bribe.
DSP of Vigilance Investigation Bureau, Sujit Kumar Sagar, confirmed the arrest, stating: “The accused was engaged in survey work in Gudiya Panchayat Government Building when we conducted the operation. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the anti-corruption law in Patna’s Vigilance police station.”
Following the bribery arrest of revenue officer Vikas Kumar, the State Vigilance Unit has kept him at a private hotel near the Triveniganj bus stand in Supaul for further legal formalities.
He will be taken to Patna for further proceedings. Sagar pointed out that a five-member team led by himself, DSP Sameer Chandra Jha took swift action to arrest the accused and highlight the corruption in land surveys.
This incident underscores rampant corruption in land surveys and the crackdown by Vigilance authorities to curb such illegal activities.
The Nitish Kumar government always claims zero tolerance for corruption. Despite that the cases of bribery emerge in the state.
–IANS
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