Haryana State Vigilance Bureau has arrested an absconding jail superintendent Anil Kumar who is accused of demanding bribes from jail inmates through two subordinates for facilitating them in the jail complex in Rewari.

Kumar was arrested after he surrendered in the court complex in Narnaul district, a Vigilance Bureau spokesperson said on Monday.

The Rewari jail superintendent, who was looking after the additional work of Narnaul jail, was declared proclaimed offender by the court on 18 April this year.

“He (Kumar) had earlier applied for anticipatory bail in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh and even the Supreme Court of India, but the same was rejected due to proper ‘pairvi’ and follow-up in this high profile case by the Vigilance Bureau and since then, raids were being conducted to nab him,” the spokesperson said.

Kumar was allegedly demanding bribes from jail inmates. This system of taking money from criminals in both Narnaul and Rewari jails had been going on for a long time, the information of which was received by the Vigilance Bureau, the spokesperson said.

“Acting on the basis of this information on 9 December 2021, the Bureau’s team raided Narnaul Jail complex and caught jail warden Rajan red-handed while accepting Rs One lakh bribe from Hansraj, the brother of Sandeep, a henchman of a notorious gangster. During the raid, another jail warden Gaje Singh was also arrested for his involvement in the bribery,” he said.

During investigation, it came to the fore that both jail wardens had taken money on the instructions of the jail superintendent Anil Kumar to provide facilities to prisoners.

It was also revealed that jail authorities in Narnaul and Rewari were charging a hefty amount for providing a range of services including choice barracks, facility to use mobile phones, and even drugs.

After the registration of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the police remand of the accused will be sought from the court to ascertain the details of properties that he acquired through corrupt practice, the spokesperson said.