PHE engineer caught taking Rs 30K bribe in Anuppur

Bhopal: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Rewa, on Friday arrested an in-charge Executive Engineer of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department in Anuppur district for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a contractor.The accused, identified as AK Sahu, was caught red-handed during a trap operation conducted by the EOW. Officials said Sahu had allegedly demanded Rs two lakh to facilitate the release of a contractor’s pending payments, including the final bill, security deposit and Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR).According to the EOW, the complaint was filed by Ramashray Yadav, a resident of Rewa district. Yadav alleged that his relative’s firm, RGA Construction Company, had been awarded a contract in 2020-21 for laying pipelines and providing household tap connections in Anuppur district.After completing the project, the company approached the PHE Department for the release of its dues. The complainant alleged that Sahu demanded Rs two lakh to clear the final bill of approximately Rs 14 lakh, a security deposit of around Rs seven lakh and an FDR worth nearly Rs four lakh.Investigators said the accused had already received Rs 1.5 lakh from the contractor. Acting on the complaint, the EOW laid a trap and apprehended Sahu while he was allegedly accepting an additional Rs 30,000 on Friday.A case has been registered against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further investigation is underway.