Revenue staff arrested from Kishanganj hotel while taking 2.5 lakhs bribe

Just days after Bihar's new government settled in a revenue department employee was caught with his hands full of cash in a classic corruption sting. Today, Rajdeep Paswan found himself in handcuffs after a Vigilance team bust while accepting a whopping 2.5 lakh rupees bribe from Kishanganj hotel. The money was demanded to smooth the way for a routine land regularization process. The trap wasn't sprung by chance; it followed a bold complaint from Owais Ansari, a resident of Khagda village, who refused to pay up quietly and tipped off the anti-corruption sleuths instead.

The operation unfolded with a seven-member Vigilance squad under Deputy Superintendent Vinod Kumar laying in wait. Ansari, tired of Paswan's repeated demands for the payoff, had laid out the details in his formal grievance, sparking a quick probe that confirmed the shakedown. As Paswan pocketed the bribe notes—carefully marked for the trap—the team swooped in, nabbing him red-handed amid the hotel's everyday hum. Officials seals the spot and whisking away evidence.

DSP Kumar, speaking to media confirms the arrest went off without a hitch, underscoring how one citizen's stand can topple a corrupt cog in the system. This bust isn't an isolated blip; it echoes a fresh wave of Vigilance crackdowns across Bihar, like the recent collaring of another employee, Sanjay Kumar, in Nalanda's Karai Parsurai for pocketing a smaller 4,500-rupee kickback. As the new administration vows zero tolerance for graft, cases like Paswan's—set to be hauled to Patna for deeper grilling—shine a harsh light on the uphill battle against deep-rooted venality. With probes ongoing and public eyes wide open, Bihar's fight against corruption feels a tad more real today.