Indian Information Service officer caught red-handed taking bribe from magician

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested an Indian Information Service officer while allegedly accepting a bribe from an artist-cum-magician, it said on Wednesday.

Manish Gautam, the accused, is a class-1 officer serving as director of the Regional Outreach Bureau (ROB) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, an ACB statement said. This is the first case in Gujarat where a civil service officer has been caught red-handed in a graft case, it added.

Gautam was arrested on Tuesday while accepting Rs 20,000 from a man who wanted to be empanelled as a magician with the ROB, it said. The ROB uses magicians and other performing artists in programs aimed at spreading awareness about government schemes, the ACB said.

"The complainant had applied to get himself registered as a magician with the ROB. Gautam allegedly demanded Rs 20,000 to select him in auditions," said Deputy Superintendent of Police D P Chudasama.

"We laid a trap at the ROB office in Nehrunagar and nabbed Gautam while accepting the bribe. We also recovered Rs 2.5 lakh from him at the time of arrest," the officer said. Gautam was remanded in police custody till December 13 by a local court later Tuesday, he added.

Gautam had passed the UPSC exam in 2001 by securing 402nd rank, Chudasama said. He had also worked as `correspondent' at the Indian Embassy in Nepal for three years, the ACB officer added.