RTI officer at CMHO office caught red-handed taking bribe in Jabalpur

Jabalpur: A female employee posted in the RTI branch of the Chief Medical and Health Officer's (CMHO) office in Jabalpur was caught red-handed by the Lokayukta while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 for releasing information under the Right to Information Act.

A case was registered against her under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to information received from Lokayukta DSP Neetu Tripathi, Rakesh Kumar Vishwakarma, 32, a resident of Green City Road, Madho Tal, Jabalpur, is an RTI activist and the State President of the Human Rights and Public Information Rights Association of India.

He applied for information regarding appointments at the District Jabalpur office of the Chief Medical and Health Officer under the Right to Information Act.

Vinita William, Assistant Grade-3, in charge of the RTI branch, allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000 in exchange for providing the information. The deal was allegedly settled at Rs 4,000. The victim reported this to the Lokayukta, and after verification, the complaint was found to be true.

On Tuesday, the victim went to the office of the Chief Medical and Health Officer at the District Hospital Jabalpur premises and handed over the bribe amount to the concerned female officer. As soon as she accepted the bribe, the Lokayukta team caught her red-handed.

The trap team included Deputy Superintendent of Police Neetu Tripathi, inspector Naresh Behera, inspector Kamal Singh Uikey, inspector Shashikala Maskule, and the Lokayukta Jabalpur team.