A district court on Tuesday acquitted a clerk of the Panchkula municipal corporation in a corruption case as the Haryana vigilance bureau (VB) could not prove the allegation that he had swallowed the Rs 1,000 note given to him as bribe.
The VB had arrested Praveen Kumar, a clerk in the MC's office at Kalka, on allegations that he was demanding Rs 1,000 for issuing a death certificate for complainant Vikas's father Shanti Swaroop.
On Vikas's complaint, the VB laid a trap on May 3, 2012, but did not find Praveen on his seat. On the phone, he told Vikas that he was at home. The team tailed Vikas to the house, where he reportedly gave a Rs 1,000 note to the clerk. As Praveen got to know of the trap, he tried to flee but was nabbed around 200 metres away, it was alleged.
As per the chargesheet, Praveen first told the VB men that he had thrown away the note while fleeing, but when interrogated he said he had swallowed it.
But during the trial, Dr Sanjeev Trehan, senior medical officer of General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, told the court that he could not give any opinion regarding swallowing of the note as no medical examination had been conducted within 24 hours of the alleged incident, said Amit Dudeja, counsel for Praveen.
{{/usCountry}}But during the trial, Dr Sanjeev Trehan, senior medical officer of General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, told the court that he could not give any opinion regarding swallowing of the note as no medical examination had been conducted within 24 hours of the alleged incident, said Amit Dudeja, counsel for Praveen.
{{/usCountry}}Dudeja added, “In this case, there was no recovery of any bribe money. Also, the complainant did not appear before the court and was also declared a proclaimed offender in another case. There were discrepancies in the statements of team members of the vigilance bureau too.”