Kota zilla parishad official caught accepting bribe by ACB sleuths

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested the personal assistant (PA) to the Kota zilla parishad president for allegedly accepting Rs 25,000 as bribe from a village sarpanch to give clearance for project works.

Chandra Prakash Gupta (57), a resident of Bajrang Nagar in the city, was caught red-handed accepting the bribe from the sarpanch, Kota ACB Assistant Superintendent of Police Chandrasheel Thakur said.

Thakur added that another accused, who is a junior assistant at the office, is missing and efforts are on to nab him while the zilla parishad president's role is also under the ACB's lens.

Through junior assistant Kamalkant Vaishnav, the main accused sought the bribe of Rs 25,000 from the sarpanch for sanctioning budget for developmental works in Dobra and Padampur villages that come under Kaliyakhedi gram panchyat area and also to not visit the sites for any inspections, the ASP added.

Earlier in the week, the sarpanch lodged a complaint against Gupta and the junior assistant with the ACB, ASP Thakur said.

A trap was laid on Friday noon and the officials arrested Gupta, the ASP further said.

Gupta will be produced before an ACB court on Saturday, Thakur said adding that a search is underway at his residence.