Dr. Paras Nath Prasad, the then District Cooperative Officer of Madhepura, has been convicted in a bribery case involving a demand for Rs 40,000. The special vigilance court of Judge Deepak Kumar-I in Bhagalpur found him guilty under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and immediately sent him to judicial custody. The court is scheduled to pronounce the sentence on October 31.

The case dates back to 2010. Ajay Ranjan, a resident of Navtoliya in Madhepura, had applied for the registration of the Pragya Krishak Seva Swavalambi Cooperative Society. In exchange, Dr. Paras Nath, the then District Cooperative Officer, demanded a bribe of Rs 40,000 from him. Ranjan subsequently filed a complaint at the Vigilance Police Station.

Following verification, a vigilance team arrested Dr. Parasnath red-handed on June 23, 2010, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000. Amritendu Shekhar Thakur, the then DSP of the Vigilance Investigation Bureau, thoroughly investigated the matter and filed a precise charge sheet in court on time. On behalf of the prosecution, Ram Badan Kumar Chaudhary, the in-charge special public prosecutor for vigilance, presented the testimonies of 9 witnesses and strong evidence in court, based on which the court found the accused guilty.