Lokayukta police arrested two individuals in separate bribery cases in Jabalpur. The accused include Gopichand Kol, sarpanch of Dudi gram panchayat, and Jinesh Kumar Jain, cluster principal of Government High School Mohas, Bargi.
Gopichand Kol was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Dhaniya Bai Patel, who sought a widow pension and ration slip to avail Rs 2 lakh financial aid under Sambal Yojna. Dhaniya Bai approached the sarpanch multiple times but faced delays. On May 5, Kol demanded Rs 35,000 for preparing the slip. The complainant lodged a complaint at the Lokayukta office, leading to the accused’s arrest on May 6 when he took the first bribe instalment.
Separately, Jinesh Kumar Jain was arrested for taking Rs 4,000 from Madan Singh Pandro, a primary school teacher, to forward his promotion file. Pandro’s promotion was delayed despite 12 years of service, with the principal demanding Rs 5,000 to process the file. After verifying the complaint, Lokayukta arrested Jain on May 8.
Both cases are registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and investigations continue.