Kashmir News Trust [KNT]
The Anti-Corruption Bureau Wednesday said that it trapped and arrested a tehsildar and his clerk red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe in Kashmir capital Srinagar.
ACB in a statement said that it received a written complaint, alleging therein that Majid Choudhary, Tehsildar Panthachowk, Srinagar and his office clerk Peer Waseem Ahmad were demanding Rs1.61 lakh as a bribe for issuing the revenue records in favour of the complainant.
The statement reads that the complainant pleaded for justice and the duo officers settled that the bribe amount be paid in installments and asked the complainants to pay Rs1.20 lakh as 1st installment.
“However, before paying the bribe amount to the accused persons, the complainants approached before Anti-Corruption Bureau for taking legal action against the accused public servants under law,” it reads.
It reads that on receipt of the complaint Case FIR No. 32/2022 U/S 7 PC Act 1988 r/w 120-B IPC was registered at PS ACB Srinagar and investigation was taken up.
“During the course of investigation a trap team constituted. The team laid a successful trap and caught red-handed the Tehsildar and his office Clerk while demanding and accepting the bribe amount of Rs1.20 Lakh from the complainant as first instalment of Rs1.61 Lakh. They were arrested on the spot by the ACB team. The official vehicle JK01AL-8277 (Bolero) used by the duo for accepting bribe was also seized by the ACB.”
It added that the bribe money was also recovered from their possession in the presence of independent witnesses.
“Subsequently searches were carried out at different locations associated with the accused(s). Further investigation into the case is going on,” the statement concludes. (KNT)