A team of vigilance department nabbed the revenue collector of Circle Office of Barkagaon block from his residence on Thursday morning. Revenue collector of Barkagaon Circle Office of Hazaribagh district, Ajay Kumar Singh, was caught red-handed taking Rs5,000 from the informer Prabhat Ranjan Mahto for issuing receipt of land revenue collection.
When the vigilance team searched the house cum residential office of this lower grade staff of the circle office everyone was astonished. The team found Rs22.17 lakhs cash from his house, which was seized. Besides this, certificates of fixed deposit, insurance policies, other deposits, jewelry and papers of purchase of lands of worth more than Rs50 lakhs were found from his house.
IG Vigilance Murari lal Meena who was incidentally here at Hazaribagh on Thursday himself gave the information of arrest of this millionaire staff and said that besides the case of corruption we will also frame charges of wealth more than income against him. DIG Umesh Kumar and ASP Vipul Kumar were with him during the press meet.
Meena informed that a resident of Kadmadih-Barkagaon Prabhat Ranjan Mahto lodged a complaint in the vigilance department that the revenue employee Singh had demanded Rs10,000 to issue the land receipt. After enquiring, the vigilance department found the complaint correct and then made a plan to trap the corrupt staff. As per plan Mahto first paid Rs5,000 and gave the details of the land to Singh. Singh then called him to his residence on Thursday.
On Thursday morning as per plan Mahto reached at the residence of Ajay Kumar Singh which is in Kasturi Khap village hardly 6-7 kms away from Hazaribagh town. He gave Rs5000 cash to him and signaled the vigilance team. The team led by DSP Pran Ranjan immediately entered into the house and caught the revenue collector red-handed with the bribe amount.
When the vigilance team searched his house they found the important land record called register II of the Barkagaon Circle Office and some other files and records from his residence.