EE (CONSTRUCTION) ARRESTED RED HANDED

EE (CONSTRUCTION) ARRESTED RED HANDED

9-NOV-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-------------------------In a major operation on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, the Vigilance Investigation Bureau of Bihar arrested Ritesh Chandra Sinha, an Executive Engineer in the Road Construction Department, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. In addition to the cash, assets worth crores and documents related to various investments were recovered from the accused engineer’s flat in Patna.

Regarding the operation, the Vigilance Bureau stated that a contractor named Arun Kumar Singh—a resident of Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district—had filed a written complaint of bribery against Executive Engineer Ritesh Chandra Sinha.

According to the complainant, two major road projects are currently underway under the Madhubani Road Division. The first project involves a road stretch of approximately 1.2 km between Rajnagar, Babubarhi, and Khutauna, with an estimated total cost of around Rs 5.78 crore. About 90 percent of the work on this project has been completed, and Rs 50 lakh has already been paid. The second project concerns a road approximately 2.4 km long, connecting Stadium Chowk, Maharajganj Chowk, and Sudi High School, with a construction cost of about Rs 13.48 crore. Following the completion of approximately 25 percent of the work, a payment of Rs 1.41 crore was made.

A total of Rs 6.50 crore remained as outstanding payments for these two projects. It is alleged that the Executive Engineer demanded a bribe of three percent—amounting to Rs 19.50 lakh—in exchange for processing these outstanding dues. He had pressured the contractor to pay an initial installment of Rs 5 lakh immediately.

Upon receiving the complaint, the Vigilance Bureau conducted a confidential internal investigation and verification process. Following the discovery of concrete evidence that a bribe was being demanded during the verification process, a case (Case No. 133/26) was registered at the Vigilance Police Station.

Subsequently, a special raid team was constituted under the leadership of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shyam Babu Prasad. Acting on a pre-arranged plan, the team laid a trap on Sunday—coinciding with the festival of Diwali—at Flat No. C-303, Shiv Parvati Grih Apartment, located in Ramnagari, Ashiana, Patna. As soon as Executive Engineer Ritesh Chandra Sinha accepted a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, the vigilance team apprehended him.

Immediately following the arrest, the vigilance team conducted a thorough search of the accused engineer's flat, which led to several startling revelations. The team recovered Rs 6,11,900 in cash, along with a significant quantity of gold and silver jewelry. Documents pertaining to substantial investments in the stock market and LIC, as well as details of seven separate bank accounts, were also discovered. Furthermore, the team seized documents related to land and other flats, along with keys and paperwork for bank lockers.

At present, the Vigilance Bureau team is interrogating the accused engineer, and a deep-dive investigation is underway regarding his other properties and assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.