Ranchi: A 40-year-old tout was sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail on Monday for promising an army job to a 22-year-old Jamshedpur resident and taking Rs 20,000 from him.

Mahavir Lohra was caught red-handed while accepting the money from Rohit Singh on Sunday night at Morabadi grounds where an army recruitment rally is underway.

"Army intelligence officials nabbed the accused and handed him over to us around 10pm on Sunday. This (Monday) morning, he was produced in the court of a judicial magistrate and forwarded to jail for 14 days," Lalpur OC Ramod Kumar Singh said.

Singh said the army intelligence had inputs about the activities of touts duping youths on the pretext of giving them jobs in the army.

"During investigation, army intelligence officials met Rohit, who was in contact with Mahavir. The officials convinced Rohit that one can't land army jobs by paying money to touts and asked him to help the team nab the person involved in this illegal activity. The officials then laid a trap with the help of the youth, who was provided chemical-coated currency notes and asked to call the tout at Morabadi grounds. Mahavir was arrested when he came to collect the money," OC Singh said.

An officer at Lalpur police station said the accused was a resident of Baru Naya Toli village in Pithoria, about 20km from the city.

"Primary probe suggests that he was associated with the army. A card of the army canteen was recovered from him. During interrogation, he said he had retired from the Bihar regiment. We are verifying his claim," the officer said.

Colonel Deepak Dayal, director (recruitment) of the Army Recruiting Office on Main Road, said he knew about the development. "We know that touts often exploit innocent and poor youths with false promises and tarnish the image of the most sacred institutions of the nation," he said.

He said the recruitment process in the army was transparent, fair and incorruptible.

"Only a deserving candidate can find a place in the army. Youths should stay alert," he added.