Patna: The Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) of Bihar arrested Ravikant Kumar, Circle Officer (CO) of Chanan block in Banka district, on Wednesday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000.
According to the SVU, Kumar had allegedly demanded Rs 2 lakh from a complainant to facilitate the handover of possession of land involved in a legal dispute.
SVU Verifies Bribe Complaint
The complainant, Siyaram Kumar, son of Vasudev Yadav and a resident of Jha Tola Morve in Chanan police station area of Banka, approached the SVU in Patna with a complaint against the Circle Officer.
The SVU said it verified the allegation and confirmed the demand for a bribe. Following the verification, a case was registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Officer Caught During Trap Operation
The SVU subsequently formed a raid team under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police Arun Kumar Akela.
During the operation, the team allegedly caught Ravikant Kumar while accepting Rs 20,000 from the complainant. The accused officer was then taken into custody by the SVU team.
The complainant had alleged that the officer sought Rs 2 lakh in connection with the handover of possession of the disputed land, citing an order passed in Title Suit Case No. 2395/95. An immediate payment of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 was also allegedly sought.
SVU Begins Further Investigation
Sudhanshu Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), SVU, said the complaint was first verified and the alleged bribe demand was confirmed before the FIR and trap operation were carried out.
“The complaint was verified after it was received. Upon confirmation of the bribe demand during verification, an FIR was registered; subsequently, a raid team was formed, and the Circle Officer was arrested red-handed while accepting the Rs 20,000 bribe.”
The SVU is questioning the accused officer and investigating the allegations. Further legal action will depend on the findings of the investigation and in
terrogation.
