Patna: The Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) on Monday arrested two persons while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.26 lakh for clearing bills related to PCC road and drain construction works in Banka district.The accused were identified as Om Prakash Mandal, a private assistant, and Jageshwar Mandal, a night guard, both associated with the Banka Zila Parishad office. They were allegedly caught accepting the bribe inside the chamber of the chief executive officer of the Zila Parishad.According to VIB, complainant Awadh Kishor Kumar of Banka approached the bureau on July 30, alleging that five persons were demanding a bribe to clear pending bills. The accused include assistant engineer Sudhir Kumar, junior engineer Magroof, Zila Parishad chairman Rajendra Yadav, private assistant Om Prakash Mandal and night guard Jageshwar Mandal.During verification, VIB found that public servants and private individuals were allegedly working together to collect illegal gratification for clearing payments under govt schemes. An FIR was subsequently registered against five persons.A raiding team led by DSP Satyendra Ram laid a trap and caught Om Prakash and Jagdishwar allegedly accepting Rs 1.26 lakh in the CEO’s chamber of the Zila Parishad office.Investigators said Om Prakash is a retired junior engineer of the Banka Zila Parishad who retired in 2020 but allegedly continued to remain associated with the office as a private technical assistant and middleman.Following his arrest, searches were conducted at his residence. VIB claimed more than Rs 4 lakh was found deposited in his SBI account. The bureau also found that he owns a two-storey house under construction on a 2,000 sq ft plot at Azad Chowk in Banka. Bank accounts held with SBI and Central Bank of India have been frozen as part of the investigation.The accused will be produced before the Special Vigilance Court in Bhagalpur after interrogation. Action against the remaining accused is under way, officials said.
