Patna, April 17 (IANS) In a major anti-corruption operation, the Bihar Vigilance Investigation Bureau on Friday arrested two government employees in Purnea district for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000.

The accused — revenue employee Lal Babu Rajak and archives staffer Rumi Kundu — were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe during a trap laid by the Vigilance team at the Purnea East block office.

The action has triggered concern within the administrative machinery, particularly as it comes at a time when revenue department employees in the state are on strike.

The case originated from a complaint filed by Lalita Devi, a resident of Gulabbagh (Ward No. 35), who alleged that her land’s kewala (title deed) had been placed on a block list.

She further alleged that officials had demanded Rs 50,000 to remove the block listing and correct the land records.

After verifying the complaint, the Vigilance Department set up a trap, which led to the arrest of the accused while they were accepting part of the bribe amount.

Preliminary investigation suggests the existence of a coordinated racket involving manipulation of land records and misuse of official positions.

Lal Babu Rajak, posted as a revenue employee, was handling key urban circles (Halka 1A, 1B, 1C), while Rumi Kundu, working in the archives section, was responsible for document scanning and record processing.

Officials suspect that the two worked in tandem to exploit procedural bottlenecks in the land record system, allegedly demanding money from citizens to resolve issues related to documentation and record corrections.

The arrests have raised serious concerns about corruption in land administration and the functioning of revenue offices at the grassroots level.

Vigilance officials believe that the network could be larger, and the possible involvement of other employees has not been ruled out at this stage of the investigation.

Both accused have been taken into custody and are currently being interrogated by the Vigilance team.

A case has been registered against them under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further legal proceedings in the matter are underway.

This operation once again underscores the continuing challenges in ensuring transparency and accountability in land-related services, while also highlighting the role of vigilance agencies in acting against corruption at the grassroots level.

–IANS

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