Police arrested the engineer and a clerk working in the Bihar Public Works Department (Representational)

An engineer employed with the Bihar government was on Saturday arrested while taking a bribe of Rs 14 lakh by the vigilance department, which also conducted a raid at his residence from where cash and documents relating to properties owned by him were seized.

According to senior police officer Gopal Paswan, Suresh Prasad Singh, an executive engineer with the Public Works Department, was caught red-handed along with a clerk of his department, Shashi Bhushan Prasad, in Patna.

He said a complaint was received from Akhilesh Prasad Jaiswal, a contractor, that for release of payments for a road construction project the two officials had demanded a bribe of Rs 32 lakh.

"We laid a trap as part of which Jaiswal agreed to pay Rs 14 lakh as an installment of the bribe at the assigned time and place from where the two officials were caught red-handed," the officer said.

A raid was also conducted at the engineer's residence in Patel Nagar locality from where Rs 2.36 lakh were recovered in cash, besides documents relating to five flats owned by him in Patna and another in Noida, a plot of land in Bihta on the outskirts of the city and other valuables like vehicles and jewellery were also seized, vigilance sources said.

The arrested officials were being interrogated and they will be produced before a designated vigilance court in due course, the sources said.