- Correspondent, Dumka.
Shivaji Bhagat, the current BDO of Ranishwar block of Dumka district, has been convicted by the court of special monitoring court judge Prakash Jha in a 14-year-old bribery case and sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh 20 thousand.
If the fine is not paid, the accused will have to undergo additional punishment of nine months. Shivaji Bhagat, while holding the post of BDO cum CO in Nala of Jamtara district, had demanded Rs 30,000 for working from Taraknath Mandal. On the complaint of the victim, ACB arrested him red-handed on 1 April 2010. He remained in jail for seven months. Last year, contributed on the post of BDO of Ranishwar block of Dumka. In this case, public prosecutor Champa Kumari argued on behalf of the government and Soma Gupta on behalf of the defense. With the help of court officer Shambhu Singh, ten people testified.
APP told that in the year 2010, Shivaji was the BDO cum Circle Officer of Bhagat Nala. Nala resident Taraknath Mandal wanted to demolish his old house and build a new one. During the work, the people of the village complained to the CO, accusing him of encroaching on the government school land. The CO did not submit the report even after investigation. When Taraknath complained about this to the then SDO Dashrath Chandra Das, he asked the CO to investigate 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 1, 2010, ACB caught him taking bribe in his office itself. Shivaji Bhagat remained in jail for seven months. APP said that while giving punishment under sections 7 and 13, the court has also imposed a fine. The Public Prosecutor said that all the testimony had been completed in the month of January. BDO appeared in the court on 22 July 2024. The court found him guilty and sent him to jail in judicial custody. The court informed the accused lodged in the Central Jail about the punishment through video conference.
