Forest Guard In J&K's Kathua Arrested For Demanding Bribe Of Rs 35,000

(MENAFN- IANS) Jammu, March 22 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Saturday that it has arrested a forest guard in J&K's Kathua district for demanding a bribe of Rs 35,000 from a complainant.

"A complaint was received that the accused Vipin Pathania was demanding a bribe of Rs 35,000 for allowing the complainant to smoothly execute contract work, construction/repair of road and for release of the key of a JCB machine forcibly taken by the accused," the CBI said in a statement.

“The complaint was verified discreetly, which revealed that the allegations are genuine. Accordingly, a trap was laid in the presence of independent witnesses, during which the accused was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 from the complainant," it said, adding the accused was arrested by the CBI and a search was conducted at the residential premises of the accused at village Dewal in tehsil Billawar.

The accused was produced before the court of Special Judge, Anti-Corruption (CBI Cases), Jammu, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days, the statement added.

The CBI and the J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) are two organisations authorised to deal with cases of bribery among public servants, and complainants are advised to approach either of the two directly in case a public servant is demanding gratification from them by misuse of his official position.

On September 14 last year, the J&K ACB arrested two Forest Department officials in the same district while demanding and accepting a bribe.

Forester Rashpaul Singh and forest guard Avdesh Singh were caught red-handed while taking an illegal gratification of Rs 15,000 to release the pending payment of more than Rs 2.81 lakh to a contractor who had executed fencing work, plantation, pit planting and patch sowing in the Budhi block forest range of Kathua.

A case was registered and discreet verification confirmed the bribe demand by the two public servants, an ACB statement said, adding that a successful trap was laid and both the accused were caught red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe amount, in the presence of independent witnesses, from the complainant.

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