5 officials arrested in Uttar Pradesh anti-corruption crackdown, Vigilance agency captures Rs 1.34 lakh in bribes

LUCKNOW: In one of the biggest anti-corruption drives conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment in recent months, five persons, including four government officials, were arrested on Thursday after being allegedly caught red-handed accepting bribes totaling Rs 1.34 lakh in three separate trap operations conducted in Hapur, Kannauj, and Baghpat districts.Those arrested include a stenographer posted in the State Tax Department in Hapur, a sub-registrar in Kannauj, a district supply officer, and a regional food officer in Baghpat, along with a private intermediary.The arrests were made following complaints by citizens who alleged that officials had demanded illegal gratification for performing official duties, clearing payments, processing land registrations, and settling tax-related matters.According to Vigilance Establishment officials, all three trap operations were carried out on May 29 after preliminary verification found the complaints to be genuine.Cases are being registered against the accused under relevant provisions of anti-corruption laws.In the first operation, the Vigilance Establishment's Meerut Sector team arrested Jaideep, a stenographer posted in the office of the assistant commissioner, state tax division-4, Hapur, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 24,000.The complainant, who runs a business named Savitri Beej Bhandar on Modinagar Road in Hapur, alleged that Jaideep had telephoned him on May 8 and asked him to visit the tax office. During the meeting, the stenographer allegedly displayed a tax liability of Rs 48,000 on his computer screen and offered to make the entire demand disappear if the businessman paid him half the amount.The trader informed vigilance officials that he had neither received any notice regarding the alleged tax demand nor had any prior knowledge of such dues. He maintained that if any legitimate tax liability existed, he was willing to deposit the amount legally but refused to pay a bribe.Based on the complaint, Vigilance Officials laid a trap and arrested Jaideep while he was allegedly accepting the bribe amount.In a second operation, the Kanpur sector of the Vigilance Establishment arrested Ashwin Kumar Verma, sub-registrar posted at Sadar Tehsil, Kannauj, and Jitendra Kumar Kushwaha, a private individual, while allegedly accepting Rs 60,000 as a bribe.According to officials, the complainant had approached the Vigilance Establishment on May 22, alleging that Rs 60,000 was being demanded for executing the registry of agricultural land situated in village Kandroli Bangar in Kannauj district.The complainant stated that despite the land registration being a legitimate transaction, he was being forced to pay illegal gratification for the work to proceed. Unwilling to comply, he approached the anti-corruption agency seeking action.After verification of the complaint, a trap team was constituted under the supervision of the superintendent of police, vigilance establishment, Kanpur. On Thursday, the team allegedly caught Verma red-handed while accepting the bribe amount at the sub-registrar's office. Kushwaha, who was allegedly acting as an intermediary in the transaction, was also arrested.The third operation resulted in the arrest of Anup Tiwari, district supply officer (DSO), Baghpat, and Jogendra Singh, regional food officer (RFO), Baghpat, for allegedly demanding and accepting a total bribe of Rs 50,000 from a ration dealer.The complainant operates a fair-price shop under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and distributes government-subsidised wheat and rice to beneficiaries. He alleged that District Supply Officer Anup Tiwari routinely demanded Rs 25 per quintal from ration dealers on allocated government food grain, while Regional Food Officer Jogendra Singh allegedly collected Rs 500 per month from dealers.The ration dealer further alleged that his commission for the previous five months had not been released. When he approached the officials regarding the pending payment, Tiwari allegedly demanded Rs 40,000 and Singh Rs 10,000 to clear the dues.According to the complaint, the officials allegedly threatened to initiate inspections and cancel his fair-price shop licence if he failed to pay the demanded amount.Acting on the complaint, the Vigilance Establishment laid a trap. Officials said Anup Tiwari was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 40,000.However, Jogendra Singh allegedly fled after receiving Rs 10,000 and attempted to escape in his vehicle. Members of the trap team chased him and eventually apprehended him near Shiva Dhaba at Nizampur on the Delhi-Lucknow Highway in Hapur district.Officials said legal proceedings are being initiated against all the accused under relevant sections of the prevention of corruption act and other applicable laws.The Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment said it continues to conduct regular anti-corruption operations across the state and appealed to citizens to report any demands for bribes by public servants. Complaints can be lodged on the anti-corruption helpline number 9454401866.The arrest of five accused and the recovery of bribe amounts totaling Rs 1.34 lakh in a single day underscores the agency's ongoing campaign against corruption in government offices across Uttar Pradesh.