Accountant held for taking bribe in toilet construction funds case

BAGESHWAR: An accountant posted at the Lamgara block office in Almora was arrested by the vigilance establishment in Haldwani on Wednesday for allegedly accepting a bribe to release funds for a toilet construction project, officials said.Harish Singh Bisht was caught red-handed while taking Rs 15,000 from a complainant on the block office premises. Officials said the bribe was demanded to facilitate the release of an FDR linked to a sanctioned toilet construction work worth Rs 3 lakh.Vigilance officials said the complainant approached the department after being repeatedly asked to pay money to clear the funds under a govt sanitation scheme. Acting on the complaint, a vigilance team laid a trap and nabbed the accused during the transaction.“The accused was apprehended on the spot while accepting the bribe. He has been taken into custody and further legal proceedings are underway,” an official said.Investigators said the case highlights how beneficiaries of basic sanitation schemes are allegedly being forced to pay bribes to access sanctioned funds. The vigilance team is also probing whether similar demands were made in other toilet construction cases in the block.Notably, this is the second vigilance action in Almora within a week. Earlier, a forester was caught accepting Rs 25,500 as a bribe for facilitating resin-related work.