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₹7.5 lakh bribery case: Arrested LDA JE suspended; departmental probe ordered
The government also ordered a departmental inquiry against him. Suspension order was issued after the LDA vice-chairman recommended disciplinary action against the accused JE
The state government on Monday suspended Dinesh Kumar Verma—the junior engineer of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA)—two days after the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment arrested him in an alleged ₹7.5 lakh bribery case.
The government also ordered a departmental inquiry against him. The suspension order was issued after the LDA vice-chairman recommended disciplinary action against the accused JE.
Verma along with supervisor Chandra Prakash and private individual Shravan Kumar was arrested on August 1 while allegedly accepting the bribe. Following the arrest, the state government placed him under suspension with immediate effect under the relevant provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servant (Discipline and Appeal) Rules.
During the suspension period, Verma will remain attached to the office of the LDA vice-chairman and will not leave headquarters without prior permission. Officials said further disciplinary proceedings will continue as per service rules.
According to the Vigilance investigation, the accused allegedly misused complaints filed on the Integrated Grievance Redressal System portal to pressure property owners and demand money by threatening demolition or other enforcement action against their constructions.
The complainant alleged that Verma stopped construction work after citing an IGRS complaint and later directed him to meet Shravan Kumar. Investigators said Kumar demanded ₹15 lakh to settle the matter, after which Verma and Chandra Prakash allegedly agreed to accept the amount in two instalments when the complainant expressed his inability to pay the full sum.
Probe widens
The Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment has obtained a list of the top 50 “professional complainants” who repeatedly lodged illegal construction complaints through IGRS and other platforms as part of the LDA bribery probe. Investigators are examining a possible nexus between frequent complainants, middlemen and enforcement officials. The vigilance team has also sought one month’s CCTV footage and IGRS records, while the LDA has formed a committee to provide all documents within 24 hours.
