Lucknow: A team of the Uttar Pradesh vigilance establishment on Friday arrested a mining official and a private individual while they were accepting a bribe of ₹24,000 in Farrukhabad district.
Accused Identified
The accused were identified as Sanjay Pratap, mining officer at Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad, and Lakhan Singh, a private individual. Both were caught red-handed by a team of the UP vigilance establishment's Kanpur sector on June 19 while allegedly accepting the bribe at the mining officer's residence in the Officers' Colony, Fatehgarh.
Complaint Details
A complainant approached the Kanpur office on June 15 alleging that his father owned agricultural land that was uneven and required levelling. The complainant had submitted four online applications seeking permission to excavate soil from his farmland and use it to fill the plot. The complaint alleged that Sanjay had demanded ₹6,000 for each permission, amounting to a total bribe of ₹24,000 for all four applications.
Verification and Action
After verification, vigilance officials found the allegations prima facie genuine. Acting on the findings, the Superintendent of Police, vigilance, Kanpur, constituted a team. On Friday, the team caught Sanjay and Lakhan accepting the bribe. Both were taken into custody.
Appeal to Citizens
The vigilance establishment appealed to citizens to report any demand for bribes by public servants on its anti-corruption helpline numbers 9454401866 and 9454401872.
