SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 16: The Dumka unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Deoghar Civil Surgeon Dr Ranjan Sinha today for accepting a bribe of ₹70,000 at his residence. The payment was made as part of a scheme to secure the renewal of a nursing home registration.
Bribe demanded for renewal
According to ACB officials, Dr Sinha initially demanded ₹1.5 lakh from Mahfuj Alam, the owner of Bengal Nursing Home in Madhupur, for the renewal process. On the morning of October 16, Alam delivered the first instalment of ₹70,000 to Dr Sinha at his residence in Kalibari Belabgan, where the ACB team apprehended him with the cash.
Background of Dr Sinha
Dr Ranjan Sinha is a 1988-batch medical officer and one of the most senior officials in the health department, having served as the Civil Surgeon of Deoghar for the past two years.
Notably, he remained unaffected by the reshuffling of civil surgeons in the state in 2023 and 2024. His wife retired as a senior medical officer in Chatra last year, and his son is also a well-known doctor.
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Complaints lead to arrest
Mahfuj Alam, a resident of the Railpar area in Asansol, West Bengal, established Bengal Nursing Home in the Madhupur block of Deoghar. He had been granted provisional registration until June 9, 2024. Due to a personal operation, he was unable to renew the nursing home’s registration on time.
After applying for renewal at the civil surgeon’s office on July 3, 2024, he received no response. When he approached Dr Sinha, the civil surgeon demanded ₹1 lakh for the renewal and suggested a payment in instalments.
Following this encounter, Alam complained to the ACB in Dumka. The ACB verified the complaint, confirming the increase in demand to ₹1.5 lakh, which led to the filing of an FIR on October 15.
The following day, Dr Sinha summoned Alam to his residence at Navjivan Hospital and Research Centre to collect the first instalment, where he was subsequently arrested.
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