Sleuths of the State Vigilance Investigation Bureau on Friday caught red-handed a head clerk of the state excise department, Mahendra Choudhary, while accepting Rs 5,000 as bribe from one Ajay Kumar, a resident of Durgawari under Civil Lines police station in Gaya district.

The sleuths also recovered the bribe amount.

Bureau sources said that Ajay had lodged a written complaint with it, alleging that Choudhary was demanding bribe for the refund of Rs 71,000 which he had deposited as security money for taking licence for a composite liquor shop in 2010-11.

After verification of the allegation, a bureau team led by Vigilance DSP Nandji Singh laid a trap and caught the head clerk red-handed.
This was the bureau's 69th trap case in 2011. A total of 76 government employees have been arrested in these cases.

When he contested the assembly election in 1989, his name in the voters' list was Ramendra Singh. However, he filed his nomination for the Assembly election in 1991 as Badshah Singh.

The Lokayukta has also written to the election commission to take appropriate action for changing name for electoral benefit.