Guwahati, Aug 6 (PTI) Registrar of Assam’s Bhattadev University Dr Guruprasad Khataniar was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a contractor here on Saturday, police said.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had received a complaint from a contractor, panelled with the state Public Works Department (PWD), that Khataniar had demanded a sum of Rs 1,00,000 from him as a bribe for releasing the bill for earth filling work at Bhattadev University at Pathshala in Bajali district.
Later, the contractor reduced the amount demanded to Rs 50,000.
The contractor had alleged in the FIR that the Executive Engineer, PWD Building, Pathsala had prepared a running bill for earth filling work amounting to Rs 32,00,000 and forwarded the same to the Registrar who kept the bill pending without any reason.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the state Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, for taking needful legal action against the Registrar.
Accordingly, a trap was laid on Saturday and Khataniar was caught red-handed after he had accepted Rs 50,000 from the complainant in the Chandmari area of the city here, a police spokesperson said.
The bribe money has been recovered from Khataniar’s possession in the presence of independent witnesses and has been seized by the team.
A case has been registered against the Registrar in the ACB Police Station under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).