Guwahati, Oct 8 (IANS): The vigilance and anti-corruption department has caught a government officer red-handed while accepting bribe at her office here on Thursday.

Nandita Konwar, an Assam Civil Service officer, is the project director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) in Kamrup (Metropolitan) district.

She was caught red-handed by sleuths of the vigilance and anti-corruption department while accepting Rs.12,000 in cash for sanctioning an amount of Rs.1.2 lakh for a road in the city's Durga Sarobar area under the MP Local Area Development fund.

"We were informed by some people that the officer has been asking 10 percent commission for sanctioning the amount. Based on the complaint, we waylaid her today and she was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs.12,000," an official said.

Konwar is the daughter of Congress leader and former Bihar and Tripura governor Devananda Konwar.

After her arrest, Konwar told the media that it was a "political conspiracy" against her hatched by BJP Lok Sabha member from Guwahati, Bijoya Chakraborty.