A Uttarakhand Vigilance Department team was kept inside the Sitarganj tehsil complex overnight after revenue employees protested against the arrest of two colleagues in an alleged bribery case. The incident brought government work to a halt for nearly 20 hours before a settlement was reached between officials and employee representatives on Thursday.

The confrontation began on Wednesday when vigilance officials conducted an operation at the Sitarganj tehsil premises and arrested a senior assistant and a collection ameen over allegations of accepting a bribe of Rs 14,000. The arrests triggered a strong reaction from revenue employees, who gathered at the site and launched a sit-in protest.

The protesting employees alleged that the vigilance action was “one-sided” and had been carried out without following proper departmental procedures. They announced an immediate work boycott and locked the main entrance of the tehsil complex, preventing the vigilance team from leaving the premises and resulting in the officials remaining inside overnight.

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The situation was resolved on Thursday after multiple rounds of discussions involving senior administrative officers and representatives of employee associations. Following the agreement, the two detained revenue employees were released, protesters ended their indefinite strike, removed the lock from the main gate and resumed official duties.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Tushar Saini said that all issues had been resolved through dialogue between the concerned parties and that normal operations had resumed at the tehsil. However, the shutdown caused inconvenience to residents who had travelled to the office for land records, revenue matters and other documentation-related work.

The unusual incident, in which a vigilance team was confined inside a government office following corruption-related arrests, has drawn significant attention in Uttarakhand. Questions have been raised over the handling of the matter, the authority of investigating agencies and the impact of employee pressure on ongoing anti-corruption proceedings. The exact terms of the settlement and the future direction of the bribery investigation remain unclear.

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