Home Guard district commandant held taking Rs 3,000 bribe in Neemuch

A Lokayukta team from Ujjain on Thursday caught Home Guard district commandant Yuvraj Singh Chouhan accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 in Neemuch. The team caught him taking the money from Home Guard soldier Mahesh Thorecha at the Home Guard office in Kot Mohalla. He is accused of demanding money every month from Home Guard soldiers in return for duty and posting at the Nayagaon RTO barrier.

Thorecha had filed a written complaint on November 10 with Lokayukta SP Vinod Kumar Dixit. In it, he said Chouhan was demanding Rs 3,000 every month for duty and posting at the Nayagaon RTO barrier through Balwant Singh, a soldier posted at the office.

After receiving the complaint, the SP had inspector Rajendra Verma verify the demand. When the demand was found to be genuine, the Lokayukta team laid a trap and caught Chouhan taking the money.

Thorecha said he and other soldiers were being continually harassed mentally in the name of posting and duty. Rs 3,000 a month had been fixed, he said, and that was why he complained to the Lokayukta.

Lokayukta inspector Rajendra Verma said action was being taken against the accused officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation is continuing.

The action was carried out under the direction of Lokayukta Director General Yogesh Deshmukh. Deputy Inspector General of Police Manoj Kumar Singh and Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Dixit guided the team. The team included DSP Rajesh Pathak, inspector Rajendra Verma, police personnel Umesh Jatav, Anil Atolia, Israr Khan, Sanjeev Kumaria and Shyam Sharma, and LDC Rashmi.

Earlier, on June 25, the Lokayukta Ujjain team had caught Rakesh Rathore, convener in the Tribal Welfare Department in Neemuch, and an associate taking a bribe. This is the second Lokayukta action in the district in five months.