Rohtas civil surgeon held for taking Rs 1 lakh bribe

SASARAM: Rohtas civil surgeon Ashok Kumar Singh was on Tuesday caught by vigilance investigation bureau officials on the Sadar Hospital premises here while accepting Rs 1 lakh as bribe from a clerk of an additional primary health centre.
Ashok was later taken to Patna for his production before the designated vigilance court. This was the second trap laid by the vigilance bureau at the civil surgeon office here within a year.
Interestingly, in both the cases, the complainant is the same clerk, Deepak Kumar, presently posted at additional PHC, Koriyawan in Dinara block of Rohtas district.
DSP (vigilance) Maharaja Kanishka Kumar, who has reportedly nabbed more than 300 corrupt government employees in last 10 years, confirmed the civil surgeon’s arrest.
The sources said several health department employees had also lodged complaint against Ashok, alleging he demanded bribe for clearing the files. Ashok is on the verge of retirement.
Last year, vigilance bureau sleuths had caught red-handed head clerk Bhagwan Singh at the civil surgeon’s office while he was accepting Rs 25,000 as bribe for issuing an appointment letter to Kumar, the complainant. Kumar was reportedly given job on compassionate grounds after the death of his mother, a health department employee.
The sources said after the head clerk’s arrest, the health department had asked the civil surgeon to probe Kumar’s appointment.
Later, the CS allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh for submitting report in Kumar’s favour. Kumar then lodged a complaint against the civil surgeon at the vigilance department, resulting in his arrest at his official chamber.