Collectorate Clerk in Raigarh District Held by ACB for Seeking Signed ₹50,000 Cheque as Bribe Guarantee
Raipur: In what the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) described as its first such case, a clerk posted in the Relief and Disaster Management Branch of the Raigarh Collectorate was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly demanding and accepting a signed cheque of ₹50,000 as a “guarantee” for releasing government compensation to the family of a snakebite victim.
The accused, identified as Rajkumar Sidar, was caught red-handed by the ACB while receiving the signed cheque from the complainant. Police registered a case against him under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).
According to the ACB, the complainant, Vijay Sidar, a resident of Bulaki village in Pusaur tehsil of Raigarh district, approached the agency alleging that his wife, Ramkumari, died of a snakebite in 2023. He had applied to the Revenue Department for the government compensation payable to the family of snakebite victims, but the case was pending with the Raigarh Collectorate.
The complainant alleged that when he approached Rajkumar Sidar, a clerk in the Relief and Disaster Management Branch, to expedite the release of the compensation, the official demanded ₹50,000 as illegal gratification. The clerk instructed him to pay the amount after the compensation was credited to his bank account but insisted that he provide a signed cheque of ₹50,000 as a guarantee until then.
Unwilling to comply with the demand, the complainant approached the ACB and expressed his willingness to help catch the official while accepting the cheque.
After verifying the complaint and finding the allegations genuine, the ACB laid a trap on July 28. The accused was apprehended while accepting the signed cheque for ₹50,000 from the complainant.
The ACB said legal proceedings have begun against the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the ACB, this is the first case in which an accused public servant sought a signed cheque as a guarantee for a bribe instead of demanding immediate cash, leading to his arrest without the recovery of any cash amount.
