Pankaj Nath, Assam: In Guwahati, Assam, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (V&AC) caught Assistant Director of the Land Records and Survey Office and senior ACS officer Lachit Kumar Das red-handed taking a bribe on Thursday. The officer is alleged to have illegally demanded Rs 1 lakh in lieu of issuing an NOC in the case of inter-religious land transfer, which was later reduced to Rs 50,000. In the trap, he was caught taking Rs 45,000. ADGP (Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) Surendra Kumar said that the complainant raised the matter before the vigilance and after that the sniper squad took action by challaning. After the arrest, a search operation was conducted for about 12 hours at the officer’s residence in Guwahati Anil Nagar. During the search, a total of Rs 48,38,150 cash was recovered from the cupboard. Vigilance further said that fixed deposit (FD) receipts and documents related to nine bank accounts registered in the name of the accused have been found, in which the total deposit amount is said to be more than Rs 80 lakh. Apart from this, more than half a kg of pure gold was also seized from the residence. The chargesheet also mentions the recovery of a money-counting machine, which has further raised suspicions about the abnormality of the properties. The vigilance officers are also probing whether the assets held by the accused and his family are incompatible with their legitimate sources of income. If found, it will be punishable under the Indian Prevention of Misconduct Act. Further legal proceedings and investigations are underway in this regard and the properties belonging to the family members are also being verified, the officials said. ADGP Surendra Kumar also said that this is the fourth major bribery arrest case in the last one month by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Wing. Earlier on May 1, Mangaldai Irrigation Division executive engineer Taizu Islam, then North Lakhimpur forest range officer Shivashish Shandilya and then Kokrajhar DFO Abhinash Basumatary were arrested in bribery-related cases. A case has been registered against Lachit Kumar Das under provisions related to corruption and bribery and further action has been initiated. The vigilance said that on the basis of preliminary enquiry and documentary evidence, further necessary legal steps will be taken.
