A circle officer (CO) was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹2.5 lakh at his residence in Bettiah on Tuesday morning, said state vigilance bureau (VB) officials.
Vigilance deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Arun Paswan said the circle officer of Bettiah (Sadar), Shyamakant Prasad, had demanded a sum of ₹2.5 lakh from one Vinod Gupta, a resident of Lauriya in West Champaran, in return for a favour in a land-related dispute. “The circle officer (CO) was caught with a sum of ₹2.5 lakh around 6.30 am today (Tuesday),” said the DSP.
Meanwhile, a 10-member team led by deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Suresh Kumar Mahurwar, searched the CO’s residence in Kamalnath Nagar locality of Bettiah and recovered approximately 1kg gold and 3.2kg silver, besides ₹10.50 lakh in cash and some incriminating documents. “All other legal formalities are being fulfilled,” said DSP Mahurwar.
Complainant Vinod Gupta had approached the bureau on October 29 and alleged that the CO was demanding a bribe in return for a favour after a dispute was raised by a woman Shakeela Khatoon.
After verifying his complaint, a vigilance team laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed.