Shamli Mining Officer Bribery Case: A vigilance operation in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli has led to the arrest of district mining officer Sudhakar Singh and contractual clerk Saddam, who were allegedly caught accepting a ₹85,000 bribe linked to the processing of a sand-mining application.
The case took a bigger turn after investigators searched the mining office and Singh’s government residence and reportedly recovered around ₹71 lakh in cash.
Bribe Trap at Mining Office
According to the Vigilance Establishment, the complainant had submitted an online application seeking permission for sand mining. The application was pending with the district mining officer and needed to be forwarded to higher authorities.
The complainant alleged that he was asked to pay money for the application to move forward. Vigilance officials subsequently verified the complaint and planned a trap operation.
On September 24, the team allegedly caught Singh and Saddam while accepting ₹85,000. Officials said ₹50,000 had earlier been deposited into Singh’s bank account, with the remaining amount allegedly being collected in cash.
₹8 Lakh Found at Office
After the arrests, the vigilance team searched the mining department office.
Around ₹8 lakh in cash was reportedly recovered from the officer’s office.
The team then searched Singh’s government residence, where officials reportedly found around ₹63 lakh kept in bags. This brought the reported total cash recovery to approximately ₹71 lakh.
Cash Counting Required Machines
The large amount of cash reportedly took considerable time to count. According to local reports, counting machines were brought in to speed up the process.
The vigilance authorities are now examining the source of the recovered cash and other material seized during the searches. The allegations and the source of the money remain subject to investigation.
