PRAYAGRAJ, April 17 -- Police have arrested Ramesh Chandra Saroj, the absconding custodian of the District Archives, for allegedly aiding in procuring a petrol pump licence by manipulating revenue records. A case had already been registered against Saroj, a lekhpal and the petrol pump owner, although the latter two have obtained stay orders from the court. The case came to light in 2021 when Kripashankar Mishra, then lekhpal of Jamethi village in Kunda, filed a complaint with the district magistrate alleging fraud by one Rahul Kumar Pandey. Mishra accused Pandey of illegal excavation and tampering with the boundary demarcation of two land plots. Acting on the complaint, the district magistrate ordered a probe. The inquiry revealed that revenue records of the two plots had been illegally altered for personal benefits. Following this, police registered an FIR against Pandey on multiple charges, including fraud. During the investigation, it emerged that the complainant himself had colluded with Saroj and Pandey. The trio allegedly provided an unauthorised land map of Jamethi village and used it to falsify the boundaries of the two plots. Police found that the accused merged the two land plots and prepared forged documents, which were used to obtain a petrol pump licence. Investigators concluded that between 2019 and 2021, when Saroj was posted at Sadar Archives, multiple unauthorised alterations and deletions were made in the land map without approval from any competent authority. All three were named accused in the case. While Rahul Kumar Pandey and lekhpal Kripashankar Mishra secured court stays, Saroj had remained absconding. On Thursday, SHO of Antu police station Sanjay Singh arrested Saroj near his residence. htc...