Assam: PWD engineer arrested red-handed while taking Rs 30,000 bribe

In Dibrugarh, the CM's Vigilance Cell arrested PWD Assistant Executive Engineer Mridul Baglari red-handed while accepting a Rs 30,000 bribe. The bribe was demanded from a contractor to clear pending bills for completed government projects.

The Chief Minister's (CM) Vigilance Cell conducted a raid at the Public Works Department (PWD) office in Dibrugarh following a complaint regarding an Assistant Executive Engineer of the PWD for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000. During the operation, Assistant Executive Engineer Mridul Baglari was arrested red-handed by CM Vigilance Cell officials while allegedly accepting the first instalment of a Rs 30,000 bribe.

Subsequently, officials interrogated him and seized various documents and other materials from the office. Simultaneously, a team of officials searched Assistant Executive Engineer Mridul Baglari's residence and recovered a large amount of cash. It is worth noting that the bribe was linked to the payment of bills for a pending project.

Contractor Details Bribery Demand

The complainant, Rajshekhar Hazarika, stated that he is a Class-1 PWD contractor who had undertaken three or four projects for the department and completed the assigned work. Despite this, the department was not clearing his bills. When he inquired about the delay in payment, he was told, "You have to pay something now because you are making a substantial profit from this work." He remarked that the objective of any individual's work or business is to earn a profit. He explained that he does not receive monthly payments; instead, a large sum of his money remains tied up in the work for a long period, with payments often received only after a year or more. Initially, a sum of Rs 4 lakh was demanded, but paying such a large amount at once was difficult. Consequently, the engineer insisted that since the Puja festival was approaching, a payment of Rs 1.5 lakh had to be made. Following this, Hazarika lodged a complaint with the CM Vigilance Cell.

During subsequent interactions, Engineer Mridul Baglari reiterated the demand for Rs 1.30 lakh to be paid before Puja. Hazarika arrived to hand over Rs 30,000 as the first instalment, at which point Vigilance Cell officials apprehended the engineer. The complainant thanked the government for taking immediate action on their complaint.

Hazarika noted, "We are contractors. We had executed 3-4 projects, and the work was complete. However, the department was not clearing our bills after the work was finished. When we asked why our payment was being withheld, he said we would have to pay him something for the bill to be processed, claiming we were making huge profits on the work. He demanded Rs 4 lakh. Today, we arrived here with the Vigilance team, and he was caught red-handed while accepting Rs 30,000 from us." (ANI)

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