The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its anti-corruption efforts, catching two government officials in separate bribery cases. The arrests took place in Ghazipur and Deoria, exposing corruption in banking and tax administration.
Bank Official’s Broker Caught Red-Handed in Ghazipur
In Ghazipur district, the CBI’s anti-corruption unit arrested Ravindra Kumar, a broker working for Sunil Kumar Choubey, a field officer at UP Baroda Bank’s Kasimabad branch. The arrest took place late Thursday night when Ravindra was caught accepting a bribe of ₹20,000.
The bribe was allegedly demanded by Choubey in exchange for approving a Mudra loan of ₹1.95 lakh for a local resident, Vivek Gupta, from Khajurgaon. Gupta, refusing to pay the illegal amount, reported the matter to the CBI. Acting on his complaint, a special trap team from Lucknow set up an operation and caught Ravindra red-handed while taking the money.
However, field officer Sunil Kumar Choubey managed to escape from the scene and is currently on the run. The CBI has launched a search operation to track him down. Meanwhile, Ravindra Kumar was taken to Lucknow and presented before a special CBI court. He has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Income Tax Officer Arrested for Bribery in Deoria
In a separate incident, the CBI arrested Ajay Kumar Maurya, Office Superintendent of the Income Tax Department in Deoria, on Friday for accepting a bribe of ₹2,500. The complainant in this case had applied for a correction in his old PAN card, but due to an error, he was issued a new PAN card instead. When he approached the tax office to get the mistake corrected, Maurya demanded a bribe to process the request.
Unwilling to pay, the complainant alerted the CBI, which laid a trap and caught Maurya accepting the bribe. The CBI team is bringing him to Lucknow, where he will be presented before the court on Saturday.
These arrests highlight ongoing efforts by the CBI to combat corruption in government offices. Further investigations are underway in both cases.
