JAIPUR: Rajasthan’s Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday arrested a Sub Divisional Magistrate and two other persons while they were allegedly accepting a Rs 60,000 bribe linked to the issuance of a final land decree. The agency said the arrests were made by its Sawai Madhopur unit after a complaint alleged that the complainant was being harassed for payment in exchange for official action.
Bribe Trap Leads to Three Arrests
ACB officials said Sub-Divisional Officer Kajal Meena, posted at Nadoti sub-division in Karauli district, was allegedly caught through her reader, Dinesh Kumar Saini, and Senior Assistant Praveen Dhakad while accepting the bribe. The bureau said a suspicious amount of Rs 4 lakh in cash was also seized during the operation.
The complaint stated that a demand of Rs 50,000 had been made in lieu of issuing the final decree of the complainant’s land. The complainant said the demand had initially been Rs 1 lakh, but was later settled at Rs 50,000. During secret verification of the complaint, officials found that Dinesh Kumar had allegedly demanded Rs 50,000 for the SDM and Rs 10,000 for himself.
FCRF Returns With CDPO, Its Premier Data Protection Certification for Privacy Professionals
Suspicious Cash Seized During Operation
Officials said the bribe amount of Rs 60,000 was allegedly collected from the complainant in the SDM’s office on Thursday. They also seized a bag containing the bribe amount and what they described as suspicious cash of Rs 4 lakh.
Sources claimed the seized money could be another bribe collected by the SDM’s office, though the ACB said the investigation into that amount is still underway. The bureau has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and said further investigation is continuing.
Officer’s Background Draws Attention
The operation was carried out under the supervision of ACB Deputy Inspector General of Police Dr Rameshwar Singh, by a team led by Gyan Singh Chaudhary, Additional SP with ACB Sawai Madhopur. The accused are being questioned under the supervision of Smita Srivastava, Additional Director General of Police, ACB, and under the directions of S Parimala, Inspector General of Police.
Meena is a 2024 batch Rajasthan Administrative Service officer and was described as a topper from the ST category. She had earlier been posted as Assistant Collector under training in Tonk and later as Sub Divisional Officer, Suhagpura, in Pratapgarh district, before her current posting. Before joining the administrative service, she studied B.Tech in Electrical Engineering at IIT Mandi.
In a reference to her earlier mock interview process, she had said she wanted to move from a technical field to administration because the Rajasthan Administrative Service was the state’s premier service and offered prestige, salary and benefits. She had also said that an administrative officer could use legitimate authority to bring positive change in the lives of common people.
