Jalore: 3 engineers go missing after ACB traps AEN

Jaipur: Even a day after three junior engineers (JEn) went missing after the ACB trapped an assistant engineer (AEn) of Narmada Canal Project under the water resources department in Sanchore, they are yet to be traced. The ACB had allegedly caught red-handed AEn Jagdish Prasad Sharma taking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a contractor.

ACB officials said that Jagdish Prasad and three JEn Birbal Dudi, Ramniwas Mehda and Nandkishore escaped from the office when they realized that they too would be arrested. The four officials were demanding a total of 23.80 lakh to approve the pending payment bills of a contractor.

IG, ACB Dinesh MN said that the case under relevant section of Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the four officials and a search has been launched for the engineers who are at large.

“JEn Ramniwas was demanding Rs 15 lakh as bribe, while AEn Jagdish Rs 5.80 lakh and JEn Balbir Dudu 3 lakh. The ACB complaint had paid Rs 13 lakh to Ramniwas, while Rs 2 lakh to Jagdish. He then approached the ACB following which the trap was laid,” said the officer.

The ACB was planning to catch all the four officials red-handed, but after AEn was arrested the three junior engineers escaped from the spot.

“We have launched a search for them. Further investigation is going on,” said the officer.