ACB sleuths arrest clerk at Dumari

Dhanbad unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday afternoon arrested a senior clerk of the Dumari sub-division officer for taking a bribe of Rs 4,000 from a villager of Khukhari village for clearing his land verification paper.

Anti-corruption Bureau official said there were a number of complaints against the suspect, Abhishek Malto, posted at the land division office in Dumari Sub Divisional office for allegedly harassing a villager of Khukhari village  Budhan Mahto for clearing his land verification paper.

The complainant, who having some land verification in Khukhari areas and had applied for its official verification , before the end of March, as it could have created technical difficulties

if the verification were not cleared before the end of the financial year.

Officials said that when the complainant approached Abhishek Malto with a request for speedy processing of the verification, he demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 to clear his land verification fast. Malto also threatened the complainant with sending the paper back to his office in Giridih citing one or the other flaw if the bribe was not paid.

The complainant soon approached the Dhanbad ACB, which laid a trap and arrested Malto in the presence of witnesses, while he was accepting the powdered currency notes on his office premises,

ACB official said. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Abhishek Malto would often harass villager for bribe for clearing his land verification paper, Sources of ACB said.