The Uttarakhand Vigilance Department on Saturday caught a retired army colonel, currently serving as the District Sainik Welfare Officer, red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹50,000 from a fellow retired soldier.
The bribe was allegedly demanded in exchange for assistance in extending the complainant’s re-employment tenure. The arrested officer has been taken into police custody and sent to jail.
Retired Colonel Subodh Shukla was arrested at the District Sainik Welfare Office in Bageshwar by a vigilance department raiding team. The action followed a complaint lodged by a retired soldier via the state vigilance toll-free helpline (1064).
The complainant stated that he was re-employed and had approached Colonel Shukla for help regarding the extension of his service through the District Sainik Welfare Department. He alleged that Shukla had demanded ₹50,000 to process the request.
According to the vigilance department, a preliminary inquiry confirmed the authenticity of the complaint. Following this, the department laid a trap and raided the Bageshwar District Sainik Welfare Office, where Colonel Shukla, originally from Kapkot area of Bageshwar, was caught red-handed with the bribe amount.
He has been booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Uttarakhand Vigilance Department has arrested over 150 corrupt state government officials in the past three years, in line with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s directive to intensify the crackdown on corruption.