Bribery Bust: Clerk Nabbed in Bareilly Land Office Scandal

An Anti-Corruption team arrested a clerk in Bareilly's Land Consolidation Office for demanding a bribe to clear a land registry file. The clerk requested Rs 50,000 from Sudha Agrawal, whose manager reported the matter. A sting operation led to the clerk's arrest at his office.

An Anti-Corruption team on Tuesday apprehended a clerk at Bareilly's Land Consolidation Office for allegedly soliciting a bribe to expedite a land registry file's approval, officials reported.

According to Yashpal Singh, Circle Officer of the Anti-Corruption Organisation, Sudha Agrawal had applied to register her name in the land consolidation records at the Bareilly Collectorate for property located in Mohanpur village.

A junior clerk named Abhay Saxena demanded Rs 50,000 from Agrawal to process her application, halting her file's progress pending payment. Agrawal's manager, Sunil Kumar, reported this to the ACO, who set up a sting operation to catch Saxena accepting the bribe.

On Tuesday morning, after informing District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar and arranging two government witnesses, Agrawal paid Saxena an initial Rs 10,000 installment, leading to his immediate arrest.

Post-arrest, Saxena was taken to Izzatnagar Police Station, where formal charges were filed against him.