Panchayat secretary arrested for accepting Rs10k bribe in Ara

Ara: A team of Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) on Tuesday arrested a panchayat secretary at Ara sadar block office for accepting a bribe of Rs10,000 purportedly for issuing a birth certificate of a woman.DSP, special vigilance unit, Patna, Chandra Bhushan, told reporters in Ara on Tuesday that acting on a complaint that Jeetendra Prasad, panchayat secretary of Daulatpur panchayat in Ara sadar block, was demanding a bribe of Rs10,000 for issuing a birth certificate, he was arrested. The panchayat secretary earlier had demanded Rs20,000 as a bribe, but later he reduced it to Rs10,000.The panchayat secretary is native of Sheikhpura district.The complainant, Navin Kumar Singh, a resident of Pipra in Motihari, said her married daughter, a resident of Dariyapur village in Bhojpur district, had been running from pillar to post for the last four months to get the birth certificate of her mother-in-law issued.To get the work done, the panchayat secretary first demanded Rs20,000 as bribe but later reduced it to Rs10,000 for issuing the birth certificate.The complainant, Navin Kumar Singh, lodged a complaint with the vigilance department on Thursday against the panchayat secretary.