Jabalpur Lokayukta on Thursday caught a peon of Rani Durgavati University (RDU) red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1,500. The peon, identified as Rajendra Kushwaha, works in the Examination Department and is also the Vice President of the Employees’ Union. As per the information received, Rajendra had initially demanded Rs 2,000 from a student to process her degree. However, the deal was later settled for Rs 1,500. Acting on a complaint from the student’s brother, Yash Singh, Lokayukta Police took action on Thursday afternoon. Yash informed the authorities that the actual fee for obtaining a degree from the Examination Department is only about Rs 150 to Rs 200, but Rajendra had been demanding Rs 2,000 from his sister for the past week.

 

Irked Yash lodged a complaint with Jabalpur Lokayukta SP. Following the complaint, Lokayukta team verified the details and marked Rs 1,500 bribe with colour to catch the accused. Yash approached Rajendra to hand over the money and Rajendra asked him to meet in the garden. As soon as Rajendra accepted the bribe, he was arrested on the spot. The arrest of the Vice-President of the Employees’ Union at Rani Durgavati University caused a stir among the staff. Yash informed that his sister had completed her B.Com from Keserwani College, Jabalpur, affiliated with Rani Durgavati University and had been visiting the university for a week to collect her degree.

 

However, Rajendra had allegedly been demanding Rs 2,000 instead of the fixed Rs 200 fee, forcing him to approach the Lokayukta Police. Rajendra was arrested red-handed on Thursday after accepting the bribe. Meanwhile, senior office-bearers of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) including Makhan Sharma praised Lokayukta’s swift action. They said ABVP had previously raised similar complaints with the University authorities, but the administration had not taken them seriously. The ABVP delegation had also informed Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar about such corrupt practices during his recent visit.