Senior IAS officer and director-cum-secretary of the Punjab Industry Department, Vijay Kumar Janjua, was caught by the State Vigilance Bureau on Monday for accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from an industrialist.

Industrialist T R Mishra had alerted the Punjab Vigilance Bureau after Janjua asked for Rs 6 lakh to approve an application. The amount was later brought down to Rs 5 lakh.

Vigilance officers barged into Janjua’s office on Monday as soon as he received the first payment of Rs 2 lakh.

Mishra, who is the chairman of the Ludhiana Dying Association and heads other bodies, said he had first approached the Industry Department in 2001 to get a plot allotted in his name in Focal Point, Ludhiana. His first application was rejected on technical grounds. This year, he went by the rules, and re-applied in October for the plot.

“Since 2001 I have applied five or six times for the particular plot. But it became a contentious matter since the department raised objections to it,” Mishra told The Indian Express.

“But once all impediments were cleared, I was to get the plot at a lower price because of government rules, while the market price is much higher. That is when Janjua demanded money,” Mishra added.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) S S Mand said: “Janjua was caught red-handed from his office by a team led by DSP R S Brar. He will be produced in court tomorrow morning.”