Officer caught taking Rs 1 lakh bribe in caste certificate case in Bhopal

BHOPAL: The Jabalpur unit of Lokayukta police on Monday trapped and arrested a senior officer of the Scheduled Caste Development Department while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh at his residence in Panchsheel Nagar, Bhopal.The action was carried out on the instructions of Director General of Police (Lokayukta) Yogesh Deshmukh as part of the ongoing drive against corruption.The complainant, Usha Dabhikar (60), a resident of Chhindwara and wife of retired government employee Narendra Dabhikar, had approached Lokayukta alleging that her caste certificate was under scrutiny at the office of the Commissioner, Scheduled Caste Development Department, Bhopal.According to her complaint, accused Jeevan Lal Brar (61), posted as Assistant Grade-I at the department’s Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan office near Doordarshan Kendra, had allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh to suppress the inquiry. After negotiations, he agreed to accept the first instalment of Rs 1 lakh.On Monday afternoon, the Lokayukta team laid a trap and caught Brar red-handed while accepting the money at his residence, House No.

G-21, Panchsheel Nagar, opposite Administrative Academy. He was immediately taken into custody.Officials said a case has been registered against Brar under Sections 7, 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).The operation was led by Deputy SP Neetu Tripathi, with Inspectors Rekha Prajapati, Uma Kushwaha and Jitendra Yadav, along with other members of the Jabalpur Lokayukta unit. Lokayukta officials said more documents and possible evidence linked to the alleged graft would be examined during the probe.