A planned anti-corruption trap near Munshipulia turned into a chase across Lucknow after an outsourced SC/ST Hub employee allegedly took ₹50,000 from a loan applicant and drove away. Investigators tracked his mobile phone before recovering the cash near IIM road.
The anti-corruption organisation arrested outsourced SC/ST Hub employee Vivekanand Verma and Ravi Oran, manager of the Central SC/ST Hub in Lucknow, during the operation on September 24, according to an FIR registered at its Lucknow unit on Friday. The SC/ST Hub provides professional support to SC and ST entrepreneurs.
The case followed a complaint by a BTech graduate seeking a ₹25 lakh government loan/subsidy for his start-up, the FIR stated. Verma allegedly demanded a commission for processing the application on Oran’s directions.
On September 24, Verma allegedly called the complainant and summoned him near Munshipulia Metro Station. The trap team reached the spot with independent witnesses and positioned themselves near Verma’s vehicle.
“At 1:34 pm, the complainant informed Verma that he had arrived. Six minutes later, Verma allegedly asked him to come alone to the other side of the road and get into his car. Instead of remaining at the meeting point, Verma allegedly drove away with the complainant. The trap team, whose vehicles were parked some distance away, could not immediately follow,” ACO inspector Surya Pratap Singh stated in the FIR.
Verma allegedly drove into a lane, took ₹50,000 from the complainant and dropped him there. The complainant then returned to the trap team and informed officials that the money had been taken.
{{/usCountry}}Verma allegedly drove into a lane, took ₹50,000 from the complainant and dropped him there. The complainant then returned to the trap team and informed officials that the money had been taken.
{{/usCountry}}Investigators tracked Verma’s mobile phone, with the location trail passing through Madiaon, IIM Road, Maharshi Dental College and Prerna Sthal before leading them to the SC/ST Hub office at Shri Ram Tower in Hazratganj, the FIR stated.
The FIR also records a statement attributed to Verma alleging that Oran had accompanied him to Munshipulia and later took the cash from his car, counted it and instructed him to keep it away from the office. Verma allegedly concealed the money, wrapped in an SC/ST Hub poster inside a black polythene bag, beneath an outside staircase at a rented accommodation near IIM Road.
The team later reached 39, IIM Road, Krishna Colony, where Verma allegedly retrieved the bag. Investigators recovered the money and matched the serial numbers of the notes with those recorded during the pre-trap proceedings. The cash and the vehicle allegedly used in the transaction were seized.
The FIR states that hand-wash samples of the two accused, the complainant, the trap team leader and an independent witness turned pink when treated with sodium carbonate solution.
According to the FIR, Oran had conducted a site inspection of the complainant’s proposed project on May 20 and later allegedly instructed Verma to negotiate the commission.
The statements attributed to the accused form part of the investigation and have not been adjudicated by a court. The case was registered at the Anti-Corruption Organisation police station in Lucknow under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.