A team of the Vigilance Investigation Bureau (VIB) nabbed a circle officer red-handed in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 on Tuesday.

Chandrajeet Prakash, circle officer of Dumra, was arrested from his residence by the VIB team led by deputy superintendent of police Gopal Krishna. He will be produced before a special vigilance court at Muzaffarpur after interrogation.

Vigilance officials said that one Gauri Shankar Singh, a resident of Rampur Parori (West) village, had complained to the VIB on June 5 that Prakash was demanding a bribe from him to remove encroachment from his land despite an order by the district magistrate to do so. “We verified the complaint of Singh and found it to be true. An FIR was registered against Prakash and a raiding team was sent to nab him. The operation was successful,” a VIB officer said.

The officials had laced the currency notes with phenolphthalein compound, which gives a pink or red hue on coming in contact with water, to trap the accused.