Guwahati: In a major anti-corruption crackdown, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Assam arrested Lachit Kumar Das, Additional Director of the Directorate of Land Records, after allegedly catching him red-handed while accepting a bribe in connection with issuing a land sale permission NOC.
According to vigilance officials, a complaint was lodged alleging that the ACS officer had demanded Rs. 1 lakh from the complainant for processing the No Objection Certificate related to land sale permission. Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption seeking legal action.
Following the complaint, a trap operation was conducted on May 21 at the Directorate of Land Records office in Rupnagar, Guwahati. During the operation, Lachit Kumar Das was allegedly caught inside his office chamber immediately after accepting Rs. 45,000 as part of the demanded bribe amount.
Officials stated that the tainted cash was recovered from his possession and seized in the presence of independent witnesses. In connection with the incident, a case was registered at the ACB Police Station as ACB P.S. Case No. 19/2026 under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
Following his arrest, vigilance officials launched extensive search operations at multiple locations linked to the officer. A raid conducted at his residence in Rani Bagan near Beltola Tiniali in Guwahati continued till around 1:30 AM on May 22.
During the search at his residence, officials recovered and seized cash amounting to Rs. 48,38,150 from a locker inside the house. Investigators also recovered Fixed Deposit Certificates worth Rs. 80 lakh in the names of Das and his family members. Several General Life Insurance and Postal Life Insurance policies, bank account documents and landed property records were also seized for further analysis.
In a fresh development, vigilance teams later carried out another raid at the residence of one of Das’s relatives. During the operation, officials reportedly recovered an additional Rs. 1 crore 17 thousand in cash from the premises.
With the latest seizure, the total cash recovered in the case has crossed Rs. 1.48 crore, making it one of the major vigilance recoveries involving a serving government official in recent times.
Officials said investigations are continuing to trace the source of the recovered money, examine financial transactions and verify property and investment documents linked to the officer and his associates.
