Assam Civil Service officer caught red-handed in bribery case, held in Guwahati

The accused officer was identified as Lachit Kumar Das, Additional Director of Land Records.

The sleuths of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Assam caught red-handed an Officer of Assam Civil Service (ACS) while accepting a bribe of Rs 45,000 from a person in Guwahati, officials said on Friday. The accused officer was identified as Lachit Kumar Das, Additional Director of Land Records.

Later, a team of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption department arrested the officer following the operation carried out based on a complaint received by the department. Officials said the trap was laid after verification of the allegations made by the complainant. A senior official of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption said that a complaint was received at the Directorate of Vigilance & Anti- Corruption, Assam, alleging that Lachit Kumar Das, ACS, Additional Director of Land Records, had demanded Rs 1 lakh as a bribe from the complainant in connection with issuing the NOC of land sale permission of the complainant.

"Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached this Directorate for taking necessary legal action against the public servant. Accordingly, a trap was laid on Thursday (May 21) by a team from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Assam, in the Directorate of Land Records, Rupnagar, Guwahati. Lachit Kumar Das, ACS, Additional Director, Land Records, was caught red-handed in his office chamber, immediately after he accepted Rs 45,000 as part of the demanded bribe from the complainant. The tainted bribe money has been recovered from his possession and has been seized accordingly in the presence of independent witnesses," said the official In this connection, a case has been registered in the ACB Police Station on May 21 under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).

"Finding sufficient evidence against the public servant, he has been arrested in connection with the case. Necessary legal follow-up action is underway," the official said. (ANI)