Registrar Officer Demands Bribe to Measure Land, Gets Caught with ₹40,000 in Pithoragarh

UTTARAKHAND : The Haldwani Vigilance Team caught a registrar revenue officer red-handed while taking a bribe of ₹40,000 in Didihat, Pithoragarh. The officer has been arrested.The vigilance team also questioned him for nearly three hours and thoroughly searched his house. The officer, posted in Didihat tehsil of Pithoragarh district, was caught accepting the bribe in exchange for settling a land-related issue. A local resident had earlier filed a complaint with the vigilance team, alleging that the officer was demanding money to resolve the matter. According to the vigilance officials, the complaint was registered through a toll-free number. The complainant said he was constructing a two-storey house in the Didihat area, but the officer stopped the work claiming that the land had not been officially measured. He was then asked to pay ₹25,000 twice — a total of ₹50,000 — for the measurement. Eventually, they settled the amount at ₹40,000.

Following this, the vigilance team set a trap. As soon as the officer accepted the bribe, they caught him red-handed. He was then questioned in detail, and his house was searched for any further evidence. As per the information received, the complainant had recently started construction on his house. The officer, Narayan Singh Kathayat, claimed the land had not been measured properly and kept troubling the complainant. To resolve the matter, the officer allegedly asked for ₹40,000 as a bribe. The victim, feeling harassed, reported the matter to the vigilance team. During the preliminary investigation, the vigilance team found the complaint to be genuine. On Thursday, the team reached Didihat. When the complainant went to the officer’s residence to hand over the ₹40,000, the team caught him in the act. After that, they stayed at his house for nearly three hours, searching the premises and questioning him thoroughly.