HANDWARA: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday arrested a senior assistant of the Sub-Division Agriculture Office in Handwara for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹40,000 to facilitate the release of a subsidy bill under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP).
The accused, identified as Irshad Ahmad Peer, was arrested following a trap laid by the ACB’s Police Station Baramulla team, the agency said in a statement.
According to the ACB, a complaint was received alleging that Peer had demanded ₹40,000 from the complainant in exchange for releasing a subsidy bill for a tractor purchased by the complainant’s brother under the HADP scheme.
The bureau said a discreet verification was conducted, during which the allegations of bribery were found to be substantiated. Subsequently, a case was registered on October 12 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018.
Following registration of the case, the ACB constituted a trap team in the presence of independent witnesses. The team allegedly caught the accused while accepting the bribe, which was recovered from his possession, the agency said.
Peer has been taken into custody, and further investigation into the case is underway.
