Cachar election office employee Atoshi Tapadar caught red handed on charges of graft

A Correspondent

GUWAHATI: Atoshi Tapadar, Senior Assistant of Election Office, Cachar, was caught red-handed by the Assam ACB Team led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, on Thursday while she was accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from complainant Sujit Kr. Chanda, proprietor of Gana Awaz Offset Printing Works, Silchar. The bribe money was seized from the possession of the accused.

The complainant had recently received a payment of Rs.1,17,500. The accused had demanded a bribe of Rs. 95,000 for recent payment received for the work of election forms as well as towards obtaining forthcoming printing orders in view of the coming elections.

The complainant had approached the ACB PS in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Assam and a team of officers was dispatched from Guwahati to Silchar for laying a trap. The complainant requested for reducing the amount and the accused agreed to an amount of Rs. 30,000 as first instalment out of the total bribe amount.

The trap was laid down as per standard operation in matter after registration of a case vide ACB PS Case No. 04/2019 U/S 7 (a) PC Act, 1988. The accused was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe of Rs 30,000 in her office chamber in the district election office in Silchar town.

During search of her belongings and her office, a total amount of around Rs 3 lakh was recovered. The accused was arrested and will be forwarded to the special court in Guwahati.

Also read: Assam news