RANCHI, April 17 -- Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar has appointed Amitabh Gupta, a former Jharkhand High Court judge, as the state's next Lokayukta, officials said on Thursday. This appointment paves the way to install the state's top anti-corruption ombudsman after a five-year gap. The post of Lokayukta has been vacant since Dhrub Narayan Upadhyay passed away while in office on June 29, 2021. People aware of the development said that around 3,500 corruption-related complaints were currently pending due to this vacancy. "Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar appointed Justice Amitabh Kumar Gupta, a retired Judge of the Jharkhand High Court, as the Lokayukta of the State of Jharkhand," a statement from Lok Bhavan said. The development comes three days after the Hemant Soren government informed the Jharkhand High Court on Monday that it would recommend the new Lokayukta's name to the Governor for approval within a week. The assurance was made before the division bench headed by Chief Justice Mahesh Saraadchandra Sonak which is hearing a group of petitions related to the state's defunct Information Commission and the vacant post of Lokayukta, which has been empty for several years....