The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested Suresh Chandra Chaudhary, former Hardoi district president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), along with Piyush Kumar, branch manager of Bank of Baroda’s Kachhauna branch, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹45,000 to facilitate sanction and withdrawal of a loan under the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana, officials said on Wednesday.
CBI officials said Chaudhary, who works as a recovery agent linked to the bank branch while also running a banking correspondent (BC) point in the area, was caught red-handed while allegedly receiving the bribe from the complainant.
The action followed a complaint filed by Seema Devi, who had applied for a loan of ₹5 lakh under the state government scheme. In the complaint, she alleged that the branch manager demanded ₹45,000 to approve the loan while allowing withdrawal of funds. The complainant further alleged that she was instructed to hand over the amount through Chaudhary.
Acting on the complaint, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau in Lucknow registered an FIR against both accused under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal conspiracy along with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The agency later laid a trap operation following which Chaudhary was allegedly caught while receiving the bribe amount on behalf of the bank official.
According to sources, the CBI team detained Chaudhary while he was attending a review meeting of party workers at Nirmalpur Saphia village in Hardoi. Officials who arrived in vehicles bearing Delhi as well as Lucknow registration numbers reportedly took him along with one of his associates to a railway guest house in Kachhauna town for questioning. Sources said the interrogation continued for several hours.
{{/usCountry}}According to sources, the CBI team detained Chaudhary while he was attending a review meeting of party workers at Nirmalpur Saphia village in Hardoi. Officials who arrived in vehicles bearing Delhi as well as Lucknow registration numbers reportedly took him along with one of his associates to a railway guest house in Kachhauna town for questioning. Sources said the interrogation continued for several hours.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said the investigation is ongoing while the agency is also examining whether the accused possess assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.