Cracking down on corruption, the Bihar government on Friday confiscated the property of an offcial convicted of corruption. Raghuvansh Kunwar's houses - two in Patna and one in Samastipur - were appropriated by the state, with orders to run schools at these properties.

"The formalities to confiscate the properties of serving IAS officer S S Verma and former director of Raj Bhasha D N Choudhary willbe completed soon," agovernment official said.

Kunwar, a former motor vehicles inspector with the state transport department, owned a four storey building in Gandhinagar, Patna apart from  four-room house in the city and an ancestral house in Samastipur.

He was tried by a fast-track court formed under the Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009. The special legislation, adopted last year, promises to be the ace in the hole for chief minister Nitish Kumar who had promised to oust graft from the state before the elections last month.

Last week, the state had made it madatory for public servants apart from ministers to declare their assets every year.

"Circulars have been issued to the Grade I to Grade III officers making annual disclosure of assets compulsory, chief minister Nitish Kumar had told reporters last Thursday. Kumar had also declared that his cabinet colleagues will be joining him in the doing the same.