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Cash, ash and ‘pink hands’: How Uttar Pradesh lekhpal was nailed in bribery case
Lalitpur official allegedly sets ₹15,000 on fire and flushes ashes down kitchen sink; burnt currency fragments recovered, hand-wash turns pink during trap
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Burning the alleged bribe money and flushing its ashes down a kitchen sink could not save a lekhpal (revenue employee) in Lalitpur district from arrest on Thursday. An anti-corruption team broke open the door of his rented house and recovered fragments of the burnt currency notes, Anti-Corruption Organisation (ACO) officials confirmed on Friday.
A senior ACO official said Vipul Tiwari rushed inside his house and allegedly tried to destroy the evidence when the Jhansi anti-corruption team arrived around 3 pm. Tiwari had allegedly accepted ₹15,000 from Manoj Kumar, 35, a farmer, as the first instalment of a ₹20,000 bribe.He allegedly set the notes on a gas stove and flushed the ashes down the kitchen sink before locking himself inside. When he refused to open the door, the team broke it open and entered the house, where officials recovered burnt currency fragments.
The official said Tiwari’s hands were washed with a chemical solution as part of the trap procedure. The solution turned pink, indicating contact with the chemical used to mark the bribe money. Tiwari was subsequently arrested, the official added.
According to Manoj, the alleged bribe was demanded in exchange for allowing him to retain possession of his land. He said he approached the anti-corruption team after Tiwari sought ₹20,000, asking for ₹15,000 as the first instalment.
Tiwari initially called the farmer to Tuwan crossing to collect the money but did not accept it there. He later summoned Manoj near Sharda temple, where the transaction again did not take place. On Thursday, he allegedly asked the farmer to meet him outside his rented accommodation in Sharda Vihar Colony, where the money was handed over before the team intervened. Tiwari is originally from Amapur Patti village under the Ashpur Devsara police station area of Pratapgarh district.
Manoj said his land had been measured and its boundaries verified by the then lekhpal on May 30, 2023. He was subsequently given possession of the plot, and boundary stones were installed as recorded in the field book. He alleged that Tiwari later demanded money, citing an application submitted by other landholders seeking proceedings under Section 30(2).The farmer claimed the pending application was used as a pretext to demand the bribe. Further legal proceedings in the case are awaited.
