Bihar official seeks new vehicles as bribe

Car seva

Posted as district manager of the State Food Corporation in Vaishali district, Manoj used to seek new vehicles of different brands, instead of cash as bribe, to curry favour. This way he used to evade the eagles eyes of vigilance sleuths.

But one fine morning when he was caught red-handed, the raiding party was flabbergasted to see a fleet of brand new cars, all lined up at his house in Muzaffarpur. The vehicles included Santro, Tata Victa, Tata Nano, Marshal, Bolero and two Fiat cars. All the vehicles were eventually seized by the Vigilance Department.

Officials also stumbled upon his ill-gotten wealth which included a palatial house, six plots, Rs 5.16 lakh in cash, unaccounted jewellery, 14 passbooks banks, a rifle and huge investments in insurance.

Additional Director General, Vigilance, P K Thakur said the value of the property was yet to be estimated. “He recently received a Nano from a Patna resident,” said an official. Manoj, who joined the Bihar Administrative Service in 1993, was trapped in the vigilance net for the second time in the last two years.