Guwahati, May 23: Vigilance and Anti-Corruption officials in Assam have recovered large sums of cash and assets during raids at the residence of arrested Assam Civil Service (ACS) officer Lachit Kumar Das. The officer, serving as Additional Director of Land Records, was apprehended on Thursday after being caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹45,000 in his office at Rupnagar, Guwahati.

Authorities stated that the complaint against Das alleged he had demanded ₹1 lakh in exchange for issuing a no-objection certificate for land sale permission. Acting on the complaint, a trap was laid, leading to his arrest and the seizure of the tainted money in the presence of independent witnesses.

Following his arrest, searches at his residence in Rani Bagan, Beltola, uncovered ₹48.38 lakh in cash from a locker, along with fixed deposit certificates worth ₹80 lakh registered in his name and those of his family members. Subsequent raids revealed even more assets, including ₹1.18 crore in cash and land documents linked to two plots.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Vigilance & Anti-Corruption, Bedanta Madhab Rajkhowa confirmed the recoveries, noting that the raids had yielded crores of rupees in cash and property papers. A case has been registered under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), and further investigation is underway.