Bihar Vigilance Bureau Arrests Two PHC Employees in Rs 8,600 Bribery Case:

On Friday the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) arrested two employees of a primary health centre (PHC) in Vaishali district for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 8,600 to clear pending payments of Rs 1.29 lakh to a community health officer.

The accused have been identified as Dr Kamini Prasad, the in-charge medical officer at Patedhi Belsar PHC, and Himanshi Kumar, a data entry operator. Both were arrested at the health centre while allegedly accepting the bribe.

During a search at Dr Prasad’s residence in Kankarbagh Colony, Patna, the vigilance team recovered Rs 15 lakh in cash, bank deposits worth Rs 99 lakh, gold and silver jewellery, and insurance policies.

The case came to light following a complaint by Jaipal Singh, a community health officer posted at Ayushman Arogya Mandir, Patedhi Belsar. He alleged the two employees had demanded money to release his pending payments including incentives, mobile recharge expenses and transport allowances. His total amount due was Rs 1,29,800.

VIB Director General J S Gangwar said Deputy Superintendent of Police Basudev Rai led a team which arrested the accused after verifying the complaint. On October 8 a case was registered.

The accused will be produced before the Special Vigilance Court in Muzaffarpur after interrogation. Further investigation into the case is underway.