Ranchi: Five persons were detained on Monday for a stamp paper racket on the civil court premises in Kutchery.

SDO Anjali Yadav received a tip-off and sent one of her agents as a customer.

"The unsuspecting vendor asked him to pay Rs 600 for a stamp paper worth Rs 500 and Rs 200 for one worth Rs 20. The authorities swung into action," an advocate said.

SDO Yadav said vendors were creating an artificial crisis of stamp papers and fleecing customers. "I found no display of stock by vendors and detained five for further legal action. An FIR will be registered against them at the police station concerned," she added.

An official at the SDO office said stamp papers were important for legal documentation and were available in denominations like Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 100, Rs 500 and so on.

"Selling these papers generates revenue for the government and acts as a kind of transaction tax. Paying stamp duty is an essential part of almost any transaction someone does in the country, from buying or selling a house to setting up a business agreement. Any attempt to create its artificial crisis for extra money is not justified," he added.