MP: Govt official caught taking Rs 30,000 bribe to clear retirement dues

The Lokayukta police have caught an accountant with a block education office (BEO) for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a former school principal for clearing the latter's retirement dues in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused Ramcharan Patel, an accountant with the BEO in Khaknar, was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount from the complainant Pradhan Pathak on Wednesday, the official said.

Patel had demanded a bribe from Pathak to clear his retirement benefits, following which the latter lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta Superintendent of Police (SP), Indore on Tuesday, he said. The Lokayukta police laid a trap and caught Patel while accepting Rs 30,000 from the complainant at the BEO in Khaknar, about 60 km from the district headquarters, the official said. The accused official has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he added.