SVU anti-corruption drive: 95 public servants arrested in ’25

Patna: Bihar’s Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) has set a new benchmark in its anti-corruption campaign this year with registering 27 FIRs and arresting 95 public servants so far. Led by ADG Pankaj Kumar Darad, the unit has focused on revenue, education, panchayati raj, and agriculture departments, achieving 16 convictions in just seven months—outpacing last year’s record. Raids have uncovered crores in cash, jewellery, and property documents, exposing high-profile scams involving senior officials, former legislators, and even an IAS officer.

According to officials, the drive aims to reinforce transparency and restore public trust in the governance. The data provided by the SVU revealed that a total of 27 FIRs were registered by the SVU so far in 2025, including 15 cases related to disproportionate assets (DA) and 12 trap cases in which the corrupt officials were caught red-handed while taking bribes. In 2024, only seven cases were reported, including two of DA and five of traps.

The SVU is being further strengthened to ensure transparency and accountability in the govt system. Among the major DA cases, the first action in 2025 took place on January 22. During a raid at the residence of Bettiah district education officer (DEO) Rajnikant Praveen, SVU recovered Rs 3.55 crore and land documents worth approximately Rs 2.75 crore. The second action took place on March 6, 2025. The SVU raided the residence of Nalanda district transport officer (DTO) Anil Kumar Das. During this, gold-silver-diamond jewellery worth Rs 2 crore was recovered.

Similarly, on April 15, 2025, the unit raided the residence of circle officer (CO) Prince Raj on the charges of DA worth over Rs 28 lakh. The raids were conducted simultaneously in the districts of Sheikhpura and Madhubani in Bihar, as well as Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. During the raid, Raj's matriculation certificate was recovered, which was declared fake by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

On April 30, 2025, action was taken against a contractor, Rishu Ranjan Sinha alias Rishu Shree, and senior IAS officer Sanjeev Hans in a money laundering case. Based on the review report of the letter received from the enforcement directorate (ED), this case was reported on charges of manipulation in taking govt work contracts and giving bribes to govt officials and employees. Currently, an investigation is ongoing in this matter. However, Hans got bail from Patna high court, and his suspension was also revoked by the Nitish govt. The SVU has suspended their property.

Similarly, an FIR was registered against Arun Yadav (former MLA) and Kiran Devi (former MLA) on May 8, based on a letter from the enforcement directorate alleging assets worth Rs 36.65 crores beyond their known sources of income. An FIR was registered against Shweta Mishra (public grievance redressal officer) on June 3, for alleged assets worth Rs 80.11 lakhs beyond her known sources of income.

Subodh Kumar Gupta (former divisional forest officer) was suspended, and an FIR was registered against him on June 23, for alleged assets worth Rs 1.54 crores beyond his known sources of income. Foreign currency worth $1,295, Rs 1.13 lakhs, and gold jewellery worth Rs 22 lakhs were seized. An FIR was registered against Abhay Prasad Yadav (CID DSP) on July 9, for alleged assets worth Rs 1.43 crores beyond his known sources of income.

An FIR was registered against Jehanabad DSP Sanjeev Kumar on August 8, for alleged assets worth Rs 1.52 crore beyond his known sources of income. An FIR was registered against Birendra Narayan (regional education deputy-director, Tirhut division) on Sept10, for alleged assets worth Rs 3.25 crore beyond his known sources of income. An FIR was registered against Pranav Kumar (executive engineer, Bihar police building construction limited) on October 7, for alleged disproportionate assets worth Rs 1.59 crore.

An FIR was registered against Mumukshu Kumar Chaudhary (finance department officer) on Nov 20, based on a letter from the ED. Approximately Rs 2 crore were seized during the raid. An FIR was registered against Tarni Das (retired chief engineer of building construction department) on Nov 20 for alleged corruption and bribery. Around Rs 8.57 crore were seized during the raid.

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