GUWAHATI: The Assam Police vigilance and anti-corruption wing arrested Kamrup excise superintendent Chiranjib Das on Tuesday night after he was caught red-handed while taking a bribe for granting permit to a city-based restaurant-cum-bar.
Sources said Das had demanded Rs 5 lakh for granting a permit to the restaurant-owner. “The complainant informed the anti-corruption cell. After negotiating, Das agreed to settle for a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh. The sleuth caught him red-handed, taking the bribe,” sources said.
“Das has been sent to a five-day remand. Interrogation will reveal more about corrupt practices in the department,” a senior anti-corruption wing official said. The wing is likely to raid his properties shortly.
Accused Chiranjib Das has, however, denied all charges and accused the police wing of foul play.
The anti-corruption wing has been in action in recent times, with several top-ranking government officials being caught in the act. A few weeks ago, the wing arrested Golaghat district’s superintendent of excise department Jiban Chandra Phukan for accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a trader. In the last couple of months, the anti-corruption wing has arrested several officials of the education department, the rural development authority and forest officials. In the biggest crackdown, divisional forest officer Mahat Chandra Talukdar was arrested in June this year, after the nexus between forest officials and rhino poachers of the region was exposed. Skins of endangered animals, tusks and incriminating documents were later recovered from Talukdar’s residence.