Post News Network
Sambalpur, Feb 5: Vigilance sleuths Thursday arrested a clerk of Jujumara tehsil office here while he was taking a bribe of ` 8,000 from a person. After the accused clerk Saroj Kumar Mirdha (30) of mutation department was arrested, Vigilance sleuths recovered the money from his almirah in the tehsil office.
Later, the clerk was produced in a court under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. He was, however, sent to jail after the court rejected his bail applications. Vigilance department has registered a case in this connection.
Sources said Charles Ekka of Jharkhand had purchased 4.5 acres of land in Chhamunda village under Jujumara block in Sambalpur district in 2013. After purchasing the land, he applied for the patta of the land in the tehsil office in May 2014. However, the accused clerk demanded `10,000 as bribe in return of the patta. Though Ekka expressed his inability to pay bribe, the clerk refused to give the patta
of the land.
Sources said Ekka went to the tehsil office on a number of occasions to get the patta, but in vain. As the clerk openly refused to give the patta to Ekka without the bribe, the latter’s friend Amit Bhengraj went to the tehsil office Tuesday and agreed to pay `8,000. After the deal was done, Amit lodged a complaint with Sambalpur Vigilance superintendent of police (SP) Pankaj Narayan Wednesday. On the basis of his complaint, Vigilance SP directed his men to form a team and arrest the
corrupt clerk red-handed.
Acting on the SP’s order, Vigilance sleuths laid a trap and caught the accused who kept the chemical-laced money given as bribe. Vigilance sources said though the tehsildar approved Ekka’s application for a patta of the land, the clerk did not do further processing of the form.
