Jharkhand ACB Arrests Police Officer, Panchayat Secretary in Separate Bribery Cases

Ranchi: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Jharkhand on Thursday carried out two separate trap operations in Koderma and Gumla districts, resulting in the arrest of a police sub-inspector and a Panchayat secretary for allegedly accepting bribes.

In Koderma, a team from the ACB’s Hazaribagh unit caught sub-inspector Pawan Kumar Ram, who was posted at Chandwara police station, while he was allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000.

Officials said the officer had demanded Rs 1 lakh from a man in connection with a case involving illegal liquor, assuring him that the issue would be settled and he would get relief from the matter. The complainant approached Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JKLM) leader Prem Nayak, who later filed a complaint with the ACB office in Hazaribagh.

After verifying the allegation, the ACB team laid a trap. The officer was caught at his official residence while accepting the first instalment of Rs 15,000. He was subsequently taken into custody and later brought to Hazaribagh for further questioning.

In another operation carried out by the Ranchi ACB unit, Kiran Kusum Khalkho, the Panchayat Secretary of Chatti Serka Panchayat in Vishunpur block of Gumla district, was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000.

According to the complaint filed by Parameshwar Singh, a well constructed on his land under a Gram Sabha project had already been repaired, but Khalkho was demanding Rs 8,000 to release the remaining payment and clear the bill.

After confirming the complaint, the ACB organised a trap and caught the secretary while she was accepting the bribe money on Thursday.

Officials said both accused have been booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and further investigation is underway.

The ACB also noted that this is the sixth trap case registered by the Ranchi bureau in 2026 and urged citizens to report incidents of bribery involving government officials.

With inputs from IANS