ACB court sentences 4-yr jail term to Ranishwar BDO

Ranchi: ACB court convicted Shivaji Bhagat, the sitting BDO of Dumka district’s Ranishwar block, in a 14-year-old bribery case and sentenced him to four years and a fine of Rs 1.20 lakh. In case of non-payment of fine, the accused will have to undergo additional punishment of nine years.

Bhagat, while holding the post of BDO in Nala, demanded Rs. 30 thousand for granting permission to construct a new house after demolition from Taraknath Mandal.

On the complaint of the victim, ACB on April 10 arrested him red-handed. He remained in jail for seven months and they joined post of BDO at Ranishwar last year.

In this case, public prosecutor Champa Kumari appeared on behalf of the government and Soma Gupta appeared on behalf of Bhagat . Ten people testified with the help of court officer Shambhu Singh.

APP told that in 2010, Bhagat was the BDO cum Circle Officer of Nala. A Nala resident Taraknath Mandal wanted to demolish his old house and build a new one. During the work, the village people complained to the CO, accusing him of encroaching on the government school land.

The CO, who was the BDO of Nala at that time, did not submit the report even after investigation. When Taraknath complained about this to the then SDO Dashrath Chandra Das, he asked the CO for an investigation and report. The BDO cum CO demanded Rs 30,000 from the victim for permission to start work on the land.

The land belonged to the victim, so he refused to pay the money. After continuous pressure, complained to ACB. On April 10, ACB caught him taking money in the office itself. Shivaji remained in jail for seven months.