The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the district conducted a major operation on Friday, arresting a clerk posted at the Block Education Officer’s office in Podi Uprora red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹40,000. The accused clerk was demanding the bribe in exchange for entering the deducted amount in the Headmaster’s GPF passbook.
According to information received, Amrit Lal Baghel, Headmaster at the Primary School, Rogda, Kartala Block, had filed a complaint with the ACB Bilaspur. He stated that he is due to retire in May 2026. Previously, during his posting in the Podi Uprora area, the GPF deducted amount was pending entry.
To resolve this, he submitted his GPF passbook to Pradeep Mishra, a clerk posted at the Block Education Officer’s office in Podi Uprora. It is alleged that Pradeep Mishra demanded a bribe of ₹40,000 in exchange for making the entry in the passbook. The complainant was unwilling to pay the bribe, so he reported the matter to the ACB.
After verifying the complaint, the ACB Bilaspur team conducted a planned operation. On Friday, May 29, 2026, the accused summoned the complainant to the public grievance resolution camp in Tuman village to bring the money. As planned, the complainant arrived at the Tuman Middle School campus. As soon as the accused took the bribe money and put it in his pocket, ACB officers, who were already waiting there, apprehended him on the spot.
The ACB team recovered the bribe amount of ₹40,000 from the accused’s possession. Action is being taken against the accused under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. ACB officials have clarified that strict action will continue against government employees involved in corruption. They have also appealed to the public to immediately report any government employee demanding a bribe to the ACB so that effective action can be taken against the culprits.
