Samastipur mukhiya caught accepting ₹1.2 lakh bribe

Patna: The Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) on Tuesday arrested a village head (mukhiya) of Rajchak Bahauddin gram panchayat in Samastipur district while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1.20 lakh from a complainant.The accused, Siyaram Rai, a resident of Rajchak Bahauddin under Dalsinghsarai police station area, was arrested by a VIB headquarters team during a trap operation.According to officials, the action followed a complaint lodged by Abdul Mannan, a panchayat teacher and resident of the same village. In his complaint, Mannan alleged that Rai, who was also functioning as a panchayat secretary, had demanded a bribe to revoke his suspension.After receiving the complaint, the VIB conducted a verification and found prima facie evidence supporting the allegation. A case was registered on June 9, and a special investigation team was constituted under the supervision of deputy superintendent of police, Amarendra Prasad Vidyarthi.Acting on the complaint, the vigilance team laid a trap and caught Rai red-handed while allegedly accepting Rs 1.20 lakh from Mannan at his cosmetics shop near Gudri Pul in Dalsinghsarai.Officials said the accused was taken into custody immediately after the transaction. “Following interrogation, he will be produced before the special vigilance court in Muzaffarpur. Further investigation is underway,” they said.