Revenue Official Caught Red-Handed in Anti-Corruption Sting
In a significant anti-corruption operation, the Vigilance Investigation Bureau made a decisive arrest on Friday, apprehending Dilip Kumar Sinha, a revenue department employee stationed at the Hasanpura circle office in Siwan district. The arrest came after Sinha was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 at an unauthorized office location in Gopalpur Chak Market, falling under the Husainpur police station jurisdiction.
The Complaint That Triggered the Investigation
The case originated when Shrey Raj, a resident of Hasanpurwa village in Siwan, approached the Patna vigilance office with a written complaint on November 10. The complainant alleged that Sinha had demanded an illegal payment of Rs 65,000 under the pretext of revising land records. According to the victim's statement, when he initially resisted paying the bribe, Sinha retaliated by cancelling his application not once, but twice.
Faced with this bureaucratic harassment, the complainant eventually negotiated with the corrupt official, who agreed to accept the money in installments. The first installment was set at Rs 15,000, which led to the eventual trap and arrest.
The Carefully Planned Sting Operation
Following the formal complaint, the vigilance team initiated a covert verification process to confirm the allegations. DSP Shyam Babu Prasad, who led the investigation team, confirmed that the complaint was verified as genuine during their preliminary checks. Based on these findings, a formal case was registered against Dilip Kumar Sinha on November 26.
The operation culminated on Friday when a six-member vigilance team, executing a meticulously planned strategy, descended upon Sinha's private office in Gopalpur. The officials caught the revenue employee red-handed while he was accepting the marked currency notes from the complainant. The entire transaction was monitored and documented by the vigilance team as part of their evidence collection.
Legal Proceedings and Next Steps
Following the successful operation and preliminary investigation, the accused revenue official will be presented before the special vigilance court in Muzaffarpur. The vigilance authorities have confirmed that Sinha will be sent to judicial custody as the legal process moves forward.
This arrest marks another significant achievement for Bihar's anti-corruption efforts, demonstrating the vigilance department's commitment to rooting out corruption at the grassroots level, particularly in revenue departments where citizens often face such demands for essential services.
