Jaipur: The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Tuesday arrested a former patwari who had been absconding for nearly 10 months in connection with a Rs 30 lakh bribery case registered last year.The accused, Narendra Meena, was posted as patwari in Hathoj Patwar Circle under Kalwar tehsil in Jaipur at the time of the alleged offence.According to ACB director general Govind Gupta, the case originated from a complaint filed in Sept 2025, alleging that the patwari had demanded Rs 50 lakh on behalf of himself and the then tehsildar to process the mutation of about 10 bighas of land in Hathoj.During verification, the ACB found that the alleged demand was later reduced to Rs 30 lakh and that the money was to be collected through an alleged middleman, Vikas Sharma.On Sept 21, 2025, the ACB laid a trap and arrested Sharma while he was allegedly accepting the Rs 30 lakh bribe on the patwari’s instructions. However, Meena escaped from the spot and remained absconding.The investigation concluded that the accused, in alleged connivance with Sharma, demanded the bribe for opening the land mutation and attempted to receive it through the intermediary. He has been booked under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.The ACB said notices were issued to the accused under directing him to join the investigation, but he failed to appear and continued to evade arrest.Acting on specific intelligence, an ACB team raided the accused’s residence in Champapura on Kalwar Road in Jaipur and arrested him.The operation was carried out under the supervision of DIG Rameshwar Singh by a team led by additional SP Vijay Singh of the ACB’s Special Unit-II.The ACB said the accused is being questioned and will be produced before a court to seek police remand.
