Chhattisgarh official cleared of Rs 1K bribery charge after 25 years

RAIPUR: In a 25-year-old case, the Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted a sub-engineer “wrongly” convicted of accepting Rs 1,000 as bribe for the valuation of work undertaken under Jivan Dhara Yojana for irrigation purposes in Manendragarh.

The appellant in the high court R P Kashyap, now an assistant engineer, was trapped in the raid by the police following a complaint by one Prem Mishra with the office of SP Lokayukta in Bilaspur alleging that the officer was asking for a bribe amount of Rs 1,000 for releasing the third and final instalment.

Mishra after giving the currency notes at the residence of Kashyap, then posted as sub-engineer in Janpad panchayat Manendragarh, got the trap team of police to seize the amount and charges were framed against Kashyap.

Later the trial court (of first additional sessions judge) in Ambikapur convicted him under the prevention of corruption act 1988 and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 3,000 as fine.