Ranchi, Feb 12 (IANS): A Block Development Officer (BDO) in Jharkhand's Palamu district has been caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 7,000 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday, an official said.

BDO Jaga Mahato was caught while taking the bribe inside his government accommodation located in the block office premises. Following his arrest, he was taken away to Medininagar and sent to judicial custody.

ACB DSP Karunanand Ram said that Mahato had demanded the bribe for releasing the measurement book (MB) for construction of an irrigation well project.

He said one Santosh Kumar Yadav of Tetariya village sanctioned an irrigation well project for which the MB was not released. When the contractor contacted the BDO for releasing the book, Mahato demanded a bribe of Rs 7,000. As Yadav did not want to pay the bribe, he registered a complaint with the ACB unit at Medininagar.

Post the verification of the complaint, a team was sent to the spot and as soon as the money exchanged hands, the BDO was caught red-handed.