Bihar's vigilance department has carried out a major crackdown under Samrat Chaudhary's zero tolerance policy on corruption, catching a circle clerk red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 in Patna. The arrest, made during a raid at the Sampatchak circle office in the state capital, has triggered panic across the circle office and the wider administrative machinery.
Inside The Bribery Case
At the Dhanrua circle office in Patna district, a team from the Vigilance Investigation Bureau arrested circle clerk Shailesh Kumar on Monday, 6 July 2026, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000. He is accused of demanding the amount in exchange for processing the jamabandi, or land ownership record, of his ancestral property. Shailesh Kumar had been posted as a clerk at the Dhanrua circle office for the past three years. Rajkumar, a resident of Ramnibigha village, had filed a complaint with the vigilance department over the demand. After the complaint was verified, a team led by DSP Asif Rafiq Mehndi of the vigilance department was formed. The team laid a trap at the circle office on Monday, and the moment the clerk took the bribe money in hand, he was arrested. A case has been registered against the accused clerk under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Jamabandi is essentially the official record of land ownership, and without it no land related paperwork can be completed. That is precisely why ordinary citizens often have to make repeated trips to circle offices, and why complaints of bribery from such offices keep surfacing.
Vigilance Team Steps Up Questioning
After the arrest, the vigilance team brought Shailesh Kumar to its headquarters in Patna, where he is being questioned at length. According to vigilance officials, investigators are also trying to determine whether any other senior official of the circle, or the circle officer himself, had any involvement in the bribery racket. In other words, the probe is not being limited to the clerk who was caught, the functioning of the entire office is now under scrutiny.
Panic At The Office After Lunchtime Arrest
News of the arrest set off panic inside the office, and a hush fell over the premises once the vigilance action was over. All the staff of the circle and the block eat lunch at the same hotel. Shailesh Kumar too was returning to the office after his meal when the vigilance team, which had been lying in wait, caught him red-handed. The team then also inspected the office of the circle officer, or CO. The gate of the CO's office was shut and the inspection inside lasted about 45 minutes, after which the vigilance team left the premises.
