PSPCL employee caught taking ₹10,000 as ‘bribe’

Role of a sub-divisional officer, Jarnail Singh, too under scanner, says a spokesperson of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday arrested Som Nath, an assistant lineman (ALM), posted at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office in Dagru village of Moga district, red-handed while he was reportedly accepting a bribe of ₹10,000.

The Vigilance Bureau, Ferozepur range, laid a trap to arrest Som Nath accepting bribe from a complainant in presence of two official witnesses.

A VB spokesperson said complainant Jagdeep Singh of Daudhar village in Moga, who runs two dhabas in Dagru and Nidhawala, had ₹1.5 lakh pending as electricity bills. He alleged that PSPCL sub-divisional officer (SDO) Jarnail Singh, along with Som Nath, had previously taken a bribe of ₹10,000 to allow payment of pending bills in installments.

According to him, Som Nath later disconnected the power supply and reconnected it after taking ₹1,000 more while demanding that pending bills be cleared immediately. For allowing installments, he allegedly demanded ₹13,000, claiming that ₹10,000 would be given to the SDO.

The VB, Ferozepur range, laid a trap and caught Som Nath accepting ₹10,000 from the complainant in presence of two official witnesses. A case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station in Ferozepur range.