CBI Arrests Ara Postal Official in ₹10,000 Bribery Trap, Inspector Still at Large

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a postal official in Ara, Bihar, after allegedly catching him red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from a branch postmaster whose salary had reportedly been held up for months. The arrest took place on the evening of Sunday, 4 October 2026, inside government quarters in the Ara Head Post Office complex after the agency verified the complaint and laid a trap.

The accused has been identified as Purushottam Kumar. He was earlier posted as an overseer attached to the Ara Head Post Office and the Ara sub-divisional office. Local reports say he had been promoted and transferred only about two days before the trap and was then serving as a postal assistant at the Arwal sub-divisional office under the Aurangabad postal division. He is a resident of Bhagwatpur–Tapa Jalpura under Koilwar block in the Chandi police-station area, and was still staying with his family in the Ara Head Post Office quarters.

According to the agency account carried by IANS, the CBI first verified the complaint and then arranged the trap. The complainant went to the quarters and handed over Rs 10,000. When the CBI team stepped in, Purushottam Kumar allegedly threw the notes away. The money was recovered on the spot and he was taken into custody.

Local reporting on the operation says the currency notes had been treated with a chemical before the trap, and that the accused’s hands were washed in water to test whether he had handled the money. The coloured solution was sealed as evidence. The team also searched the quarters and remained inside the complex for around three hours before taking Purushottam Kumar away. He was later taken to Patna for questioning.

The complaint and alleged demand

A more detailed account published by Dainik Jagran on 6 October identifies the complainant as Sandeep Kumar, Branch Postmaster of the Chhotki Sasaram branch post office in Udwantnagar block. He is reported to have joined the post on or around 1 July 2026, and his salary for about two to three months had allegedly remained pending.

On 4 October 2026, an FIR was registered against Sub-Divisional Inspector Gaurav Kumar and Postal Assistant Purushottam Kumar under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the complaint, the two demanded Rs 10,000 for the release of the pending salary, and threatened that payment could otherwise be withheld further or that his services could be terminated.

The complaint states that Sandeep Kumar was called to the Ara North sub-divisional office on 26 September 2026, where Inspector Gaurav Kumar allegedly repeated the demand and assured him that the salary would be released by 30 September if the money was paid. After that, Sandeep Kumar approached the CBI Anti-Corruption Branch in Patna.

Earlier reports described the complainant more generally as a Gramin Dak Sevak and said the demand was connected to official work and file signatures, including an alleged recurring quarterly demand of Rs 10,000. The later report names the complainant and links the alleged bribe directly to the release of the branch postmaster’s salary. Since a branch postmaster is a GDS-cadre post, the two descriptions do not necessarily conflict.

Inspector Gaurav Kumar still absconding

Inspector Gaurav Kumar, who was posted with the North zone of the Ara postal division, has not been arrested. The CBI is reported to have searched for him in Patna on Sunday night, including at a residential colony near Beur Jail, but without success.

A follow-up report in Dainik Bhaskar says Purushottam Kumar told investigators during questioning that he had collected the money on Gaurav Kumar’s instructions. The agency is also said to have pasted a notice at the inspector’s house. He remains absconding, while investigators examine call records and other electronic material.

The CBI has reportedly recovered electronic evidence and documents and is looking into the chain of events from the alleged demand to the withholding of salary. Purushottam Kumar was to be produced before the CBI Special Court in Patna. The case is still under investigation, and the allegations have not yet been tested in court.