GUWAHATI: An Assam Civil Service officer was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe, following which sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption recovered cash worth over Rs 1.66 crore from his possession.
Fixed deposits worth another Rs 86 lakh were also seized, along with other investment documents.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Assam, had received a complaint alleging that Lachit Kumar Das, Additional Director of Land Records in the Directorate of Land Records in Guwahati, had demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the complainant for issuing a no-objection certificate related to land sale permission.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, seeking necessary legal action against the officer.
Accordingly, a trap was laid on May 21 at the office chamber of the accused. He was caught red-handed immediately after accepting Rs 45,000 as part of the demanded bribe from the complainant.
During a subsequent raid at his private residence in Guwahati, officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption recovered over Rs 48.38 lakh from a locker. Fixed deposit certificates amounting to Rs 80 lakh in his name and in the names of his family members were also recovered.
Several general life insurance and postal life insurance policies in his name and those of his family members, along with details of bank accounts and documents related to landed properties, were also seized.
Searches conducted at another flat owned by the arrested officer in the same apartment complex on Friday night led to the recovery of more than Rs 1.18 crore in cash.
