The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Thursday arrested a senior section engineer of the Northern Railway for allegedly accepting a ₹40,000 bribe from a Ferozepur resident.
According to a VB statement, the accused, Pankaj Bhardwaj, was caught while accepting the bribe from complainant Hardeep Singh during a trap laid by the bureau.
The complainant had reportedly lent money to his acquaintance Amit Kumar, a railway employee, for personal needs. After Kumar failed to return the money, Singh approached the court for its recovery.
The Ferozepur court subsequently directed the Railways to deduct one-third of Kumar’s salary and pay it to Singh. The VB alleged that Bhardwaj demanded ₹40,000 from Singh for implementing the court’s order and facilitating the salary deduction.
Unwilling to pay the bribe, Singh approached the VB’s Ferozepur range and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, the bureau laid a trap and caught Bhardwaj in the presence of two official witnesses.
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the VB police station in Ferozepur. Further investigation is underway, the bureau said.