Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested a revenue official in Shopian for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe.
The ACB received a written complaint claiming that the complainant had submitted an application in the Tehsil Office Shopian, regarding the equal proportion of ancestral property of his wife and his sister in law, which had not been transferred in equal shares amongst their siblings, an ACB spokesman said.
He further mentioned that the application was submitted before the tehsildar of Shopian, about three months ago, and the tehsildar had forwarded it to the relevant revenue official (patwari) for necessary action.
When the complainant approached the patwari of Patwar Halqa Pinjura Shopian, the official demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000 in exchange for providing a favourable report, the anti-graft body said.
Instead of paying the bribe, the complainant chose to report the matter to the ACB for legal action against the patwari, the spokesman said.
Following the complaint, a discreet verification was conducted, which confirmed the patwari’s demand. Consequently, a case was registered, and an investigation was initiated, he said.
During the investigation, a trap team was formed. The team successfully caught the patwari red-handed while he was demanding and accepting the bribe.
The official was arrested on the spot by the ACB team, and the bribe amount was recovered from his possession in the presence of independent witnesses associated with the trap team, the spokesman said.
