ACB nabs power dept staff for accepting bribe of Rs 5,000

Koderma: An employee of the electricity supply division in Jhumritilaiya was arrested on Thursday by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) team from Hazaribag while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.The accused, Sunil Kumar, who works as a lineman but was handling the responsibilities of an accountant-cum-assistant, was caught red-handed at a tea stall outside the electricity department office.The arrest followed a complaint by one Raju Kumar Yadav, a local resident, who previously operated a brick plant in the area. Yadav had applied to have his business's electricity connection disconnected in July 2025 after closing the plant. While the physical disconnection was completed by the local junior engineer, Yadav needed a final report sent to Ranchi to get his security deposit refunded. When he approached Sunil for the refund, the employee demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 to forward the necessary paperwork.Unwilling to pay the bribe, Yadav reported the matter to the ACB. Following a preliminary investigation that confirmed the bribery demand, the ACB registered a case and set up a trap. The bureau's team apprehended Kumar the moment he accepted the initial Rs 5,000.