ACS Officer Sentenced to 4 Years of Imprisonment on Bribery Charges

GUWAHATI: The Special Court in Assam sentenced ACS officer Nandita Konwar to undergo imprisonment for a period of four years in a bribery case.

Notably, Konwar was allegedly caught red-handed by the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau of Assam Police while receiving a bribe.

In a tweet GP Singh, Special DGP wrote, "Spl V&AC Court Ghty in Case No.10/2017 convicted Smti Nandita Konwar, ACS, then serving as PD, DRDA, Kamrup(M) Punishment: u/s 7 PC Act-3 years & fine of Rs.12,000/- u/s 13(2) PC Act-4 years & fine of Rs 20000 Both sentences to run concurrently."

Sleuths of vigilance and anti-corruption (V&AC) wing of Assam Police arrested Konwar, project director of the District Rural Development Agency, Kamrup (Metro), from her office at Chandmari in Guwahati on October 8, 2015, after she allegedly received Rs 20,000 from one Purna Chetry, adviser to Durga Sarovar Unnayan Samity, an NGO.

Nandita Konwar is the daughter of former Bihar and Tripura governor Devananda Konwar.

It is to be mentioned that the Assam Civil Service officer who was the then project director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) of Kamrup (metro) district was nabbed from her office while taking a bribe of Rs 12,000 for the release of MP fund meant for the construction of a road in the Durga Sarobar area.

Konwar had demanded 12 per cent of the bill amount of Rs 1.2 lakh for constructing a road at Durga Sarovar built with funds from MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) of Guwahati MP Bijoya Chakravarty of the BJP.

On a complaint from the contractor, Purno Chetri, vigilance and anti-corruption personnel had laid a trap and caught Nandita Konwar red-handed while taking the money.

The bureaucrat was arrested under Sections 7, 13 (1) (d) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (CP) 1988 on case number 10/2015 and sent to judicial custody after being produced in the Court of the Special Judge, Assam.

According to the contractor, he was paid Rs 70,000 as the first instalment of the project cost of Rs 1.2 lakh and for the remaining Rs 50,000 Konwar had demanded a 12 per cent commission of the project cost to release the amount.

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