The Vigilance Investigation Bureau arrested Vijay Kumar, a lower division clerk at the sub-divisional animal husbandry office in Danapur, Patna, on Thursday after allegedly catching him accepting a Rs 20,000 bribe, according to the bureau. The money was allegedly demanded to facilitate the withdrawal of Rs 6 lakh from a government employee’s General Provident Fund account.
The alleged transaction took place near a betel shop at Patna AIIMS Golambar, where a VIB trap team had been deployed after verifying a complaint against Kumar. The bureau identified the complainant as Rajendra Prasad, a resident of Nisarpura under the Naubatpur police station area.
According to the VIB, Prasad alleged that Kumar had demanded the money in exchange for facilitating the withdrawal from his GPF account. The bureau said its preliminary verification found prima facie evidence of the alleged bribe demand. On the basis of that verification, Vigilance police station case number 118/26 was registered on October 7.
A trap team was subsequently formed following a request from investigating officer and inspector Jahangir Ansari. The operation was led by DSP Asif Iqbal Mehdi. The bureau said its team allegedly caught Kumar accepting the money near the AIIMS Golambar location and arrested him immediately after the transaction.
The case places the alleged demand within the routine administration of a government employee’s provident fund withdrawal. GPF accounts are intended to provide employees access to their accumulated savings, while the processing of such withdrawals involves departmental documentation and official approval. The VIB’s account alleges that the clerk sought to use that administrative process to obtain an unauthorised payment.
The bureau said the operation was its 108th trap case and that 108 accused persons had been arrested while allegedly accepting bribes in its anti-corruption operations so far. The figure refers to the bureau’s stated trap-case record and does not establish guilt in the present case.
Kumar is expected to be produced before the Special Vigilance Court in Patna after interrogation. Further investigation is underway, according to the Vigilance Investigation Bureau.
