Revenue official held for taking Rs 5,000 bribe

A patwari (revenue official) was today arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 in Bemetara district in Chhattisgarh, an official said.

Kanhaiya Singh Thakur, posted at village panchayat Mahidahi in Saja tehsil of the district, was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe from Meenaram Sahu for transferring ownership of a piece of land, the ACB official told PTI.

The complainant, a native of Bhainsamuda village, had contacted Thakur to transfer a land measuring 0.91 acre in the name of three heirs, including him, in the land records after the death of his father, who was the owner of the property, he said.

"The official took a bribe of Rs 25,000 from the complainant. But later, he again demanded Rs 5,000 for completing the process and issuing 'Rin Pustika' (land record book) to him," he said.

Meanwhile, Sahu lodged a complaint to the anti-graft agency in this connection, following which it was verified and Thakur agreed to accept the bribe at his office in Saja, he said.

"A trap was laid there and as the accused received the bribe amount, he was apprehended," the official said.

A case under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 has been registered against him, he added.