Court clerk arrested for taking bribe in Munger

Patna: A clerk posted at the Munger divisional commissioner’s court was arrested by the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) on Thursday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs1.7 lakh to expedite a land dispute case.

The accused, Mukesh Kumar, a court peshkar, was caught red-handed in a trap laid by the vigilance team and was taken to the Munger circuit house for further questioning. After a medical examination, he will be produced before a court.

According to VIB officials, Kumar had allegedly demanded Rs5 lakh from complainant Nand Kishore Prasad Suman, a resident of Pachvir village in Begusarai district, for forwarding files and facilitating an investigation in a land dispute case pending before the divisional commissioner’s court. Under pressure, Suman initially paid Rs3 lakh and later approached the vigilance department before handing over the remaining amount.

Acting on the complaint, the VIB laid a trap and arrested Kumar while accepting Rs1.7 lakh.

In a statement, the VIB said the dispute involved around three kattha of govt land near the complainant’s village, registered in the name of Kazi House, which was allegedly being illegally transferred using forged documents. The land is estimated to be worth around Rs3 crore. It was alleged that one Mohammad Javed, along with others, prepared fake documents and also obtained a bank loan using those papers.

The complainant had filed the case in April 2025. Vigilance DSP Pawan Kumar said the accused was arrested after a 15-day investigation and added that the department is probing the entire network involved in the scam.