Punjab: Forest guard, aide held for taking bribe

The accused have been identified as Kuldeep Singh, a forest guard, and Darshan Singh, a daily wager, both posted at the forest range office in Nakodar, Jalandhar district

The vigilance bureau (VB) apprehended a forest guard and his associate red-handed while they were accepting a bribe of ₹20,000 on Tuesday.

A VB spokesperson said the arrests were made on the basis of a complaint by a resident of Sangowal village (HT File)

The accused have been identified as Kuldeep Singh, a forest guard, and Darshan Singh, a daily wager, both posted at the forest range office in Nakodar, Jalandhar district.

A VB spokesperson said the arrests were made on the basis of a complaint by a resident of Sangowal village.

“The complainant works as a labourer, and when his domestic gas cylinder got exhausted, he was collecting small pieces of wood from trees along the Mehatpur-Jagraon road for household use. At that time, both the accused arrived at the spot, informed the complainant that a case of theft of government wood would be registered against him and took his motorcycle in their custody,” the VB said.

The spokesperson added that the complainant contacted Darshan, who told him that Kuldeep was demanding ₹20,000 for releasing his vehicle. “The complainant recorded the conversation regarding the demand of illegal gratification. After a preliminary enquiry, the VB team laid a trap during which both the accused were caught red-handed accepting the bribe,” the VB said.