Post demonetisation drive, the vigilance department has turned more active, seeking permission from the State administration to arrest the Government officials involved in corrupt practices.
On the condition of anonymity, a vigilance official said on Wednesday that they need permission from the state administration to arrest the Government officials involved in graft. “We are now engaged in sending names of such officials to the state administration while seeking permission to arrest them,” he said. He, however, refused to divulge the names of the allegedly graft-tainted Government officials.
Moreover, it is learnt from sources that the state administration is not permitting the vigilance department to arrest a lekhpal (revenue officer) who had allegedly received bribe though one of his sub-ordinates. Notably, a class IV employee of the revenue department Man Singh was caught while taking bribe of Rs 2500 from a person for making available the domicile certificate of his son on October 18. After he was arrested he was learnt to have averred during interrogation that he had had taken the bribe on behalf of the lekhpal Jaipal Singh Rawat.
The vigilance sleuths acted after one Pawan Thapa who had applied for the domicile certificate for his son on September 28 alleged that the revenue officer Rawat had asked him to pay the bribe to the class IV employee Man Singh.
Thapa had complained that Singh demanded `5,000 to issue the certificate and also threatened to make a negative remark on his son's file in case he refused to pay the amount. Through negotiations, the amount had been reduced to `2,500, Thapa said in his complaint.