Patna, March 2 (IANS) The Special Vigilance Unit, Bihar (SVU), on Monday arrested Roshan Kumar, an Assistant Engineer posted with the District Education Project in Bettiah, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh.

According to officials, the engineer had allegedly demanded the bribe from a contractor in exchange for approving bills related to school repair and renovation works, including the installation of submersible pumps in various government schools.

The action followed a formal complaint lodged by a contractor, after which the SVU conducted a discreet verification of the allegations.

Upon confirmation, a special raiding team was constituted under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police Bindeshwar Prasad and Deputy Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar.

The team laid a trap in Bettiah on Monday evening and caught the accused engineer allegedly red-handed while accepting the bribe amount.

Officials said that Rs 5 lakh in cash and a smartwatch, purportedly received as part of the bribe, were recovered from his possession at the time of arrest.

Following the arrest, the accused is being interrogated to ascertain whether other officials of the department were involved in the alleged bribery network.

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

The SVU stated that investigations into the matter are continuing.

Earlier, on February 19 this year, the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) took decisive action against corruption by arresting Junior Engineer Aman Kumar, posted in Sahibganj under Muzaffarpur district, while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 9,000.

According to official sources, the complainant Rajkumar Tiwari had submitted a written complaint to the SVU office in Patna, alleging that the Junior Engineer was demanding a bribe of Rs 25,000 in exchange for granting permission and expediting work related to the laying of paving blocks in Sahibganj.

–IANS

ajk/uk