After the office and residence of the ITI-Burmamines head clerk spilled Rs 22 lakh, leading to his arrest on bribery charges, vigilance officers are training their graft lens on the principal of the state-run institution, with the grapevine claiming that Thursday's haul was only the tip of the iceberg.

Bistupur resident Bhushan Sharma's corrupt habit of charging candidates for processing their applications for apprenticeship in top-notch companies came to the fore after one of the victims, who was asked to cough up Rs 5,000 by the head clerk's accomplice, contacted the Vigilance Bureau in Ranchi.

Vigilance inspector Jitendra Dubey, who was part of the four-member team that busted the racket at ITI-Burmamines and arrested 42-year-old Sharma, said they would soon probe the role of principal Devendra Prasad. "If a head clerk is able to amass wealth illegally right under the principal's nose, the role of the latter immediately becomes suspect," he told The Telegraph over phone.

Dubey added that they would produce the head clerk before a vigilance court in Ranchi and send him to jail, but would soon seek his remand for questioning. "It appears that the principal wasn't ignorant about the ongoing affair. We will grill Sharma for details."

ITI-Burmamines functions under the state labour department. Apart from providing technical training to candidates, the institute sends apprentices to Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tinplate and other big companies. Vigilance sources revealed that head clerk Sharma routinely demanded bribe for facilitating plum placements. He used his subordinates to collect money from students to avoid suspicion.

The victim who spilled the beans wanted to be an apprentice at Tinplate. Sharma, through another staff hired privately by ITI, had initially demanded Rs 9,000, but the bargain was struck at Rs 5,000. The candidate sought vigilance help.

On Thursday, he handed over chemical-smeared currency notes to Sharma's staff while the vigilance team waited to raid the ITI premises. Sharma and his staff were caught red-handed, literally. The latter wasn't booked because he wasn't a government employee. Raids at the head clerk's office yielded Rs 2.75 lakh while his Ranikudar residence in Bistupur spilled Rs 19.5 lakh.

ITI-Burmamines principal Devendra Prasad (53), a native of Bihar who lives on rent in Adityapur and boasts a house in Ranchi, vehemently denied charges being levelled against him after the head clerk's arrest.

"I was not aware he (Sharma) was taking money from students. I never extended any favour to any candidate. Let the vigilance raid my office. I am ready to face inquiry," said Prasad, who holds additional charge of ITI-Chaibasa.

Institute insiders, however, insisted that whatever the vigilance team found on Sharma was nothing. "It is just the tip of the iceberg. He (Sharma) has more than one house in the city (Jamshedpur), runs a travel agency and flaunts a dozen-strong fleet of cars. He may have patrons," said a source.

The Telegraph couldn't independently confirm any of the claims.