E-Paper
Jalandhar passport agent held for accepting ₹20,000 bribe
According to a VB spokesperson, the accused, Hardeep Kaur, a private passport agent based in Jalandhar, was arrested following a complaint lodged by a resident of Kandola Kurd village in Phillaur tehsil
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The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested a private passport agent after she was caught red-handed while accepting a ₹20,000 bribe to facilitate early issuance of a passport through her purported contacts with officials at the passport office in Jalandhar.
According to a VB spokesperson, the accused, Hardeep Kaur, a private passport agent based in Jalandhar, was arrested following a complaint lodged by a resident of Kandola Kurd village in Phillaur tehsil.
The complainant had applied for a passport and said her police verification had been cleared. However, when she visited the passport office in Jalandhar with her original documents, she alleged that a dealing hand told her that the police verification for her passport had not been cleared.
After leaving the office, the complainant was allegedly approached by two private passport agents, Narinder Pal Singh, alias NP Singh, and Kaur, near a booth outside the passport office. They allegedly demanded ₹35,000, claiming they could facilitate early issuance of the passport despite the police verification issue through their contacts with officials at the passport-office.
The complainant recorded the conversation and subsequently approached the VB’s Jalandhar range.
Acting on the complaint, the bureau laid a trap and arrested Kaur while she was accepting ₹20,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
“Singh is yet to be arrested and the role of officials at the passport office will be examined during the investigation. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station in Jalandhar. Further investigation is underway,” the VB spokesperson said.
