Jr supply officer aide caught while taking bribe

Indore: The Lokayukta police caught a ‘middle-man’ red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe on behalf of a junior supply officer of the food department. Corruption cases have been registered against the officer, Rahul Sharma and his associate, Ramu Lohia.Lokayukta SP Rajesh Sahay said the action followed a complaint by co-director of a gas agency Pramod Dubey. Sharma had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from Dubey, threatening to frame him for selling commercial gas cylinders above the fixed rates. Following negotiations, the amount was settled at Rs 1.5 lakh, out of which Sharma had already accepted Rs 1 lakh.When Sharma pressured Dubey for the remaining balance, the complainant approached the lokayukta office in Indore.

After verification, a trap was laid near Gate Number 2 of collectorate.Lohia was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 20,000 from the complainant at a tea stall on Sharma’s instructions. Although Sharma later arrived at the scene but avoided physically taking the envelope inside the office complex, investigators documented the interaction as evidence.Proceedings were underway against both the accused under Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.