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Punjab: Water supply dept SDO, helper held for graft
An official spokesperson of the VB said both the accused have been arrested following an online complaint by a civil contractor, Jatinder Singh of Patiala, on the Chief Minister Anti-Corruption Action Line.
The Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) arrested a Kapurthala water supply and sanitation department sub-divisional officer (SDO), Agamjot Singh, and a helper, Manjit Singh, for demanding a bribe of ₹1 lakh on Thursday.
An official spokesperson of the VB said both the accused have been arrested following an online complaint by a civil contractor, Jatinder Singh of Patiala, on the Chief Minister Anti-Corruption Action Line.
He further added that the complainant said in his complaint that his construction firm M/s Guraya Contractors, Patiala, was allotted two works at PTU Kapurthala.
“The accused SDO imposed a penalty of ₹2.49 lakh on his firm for delay in one project and restricted him from using the money already deposited to his account. The complainant had withdrawn ₹1.59 lakh by forging a receipt from his account. On this, the accused SDO and his helper threatened him with lodging a criminal complaint against him if he didn’t pay ₹7 lakh as a bribe. The complainant further revealed that the deal was struck at ₹1 lakh but he deposited the penalty amount of ₹1.59 to the department,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson stated that the complainant recorded a conversation with the accused when he was demanding bribe money. The VB Jalandhar range investigated this online complaint and arrested the accused SDO and his helper after finding them guilty of corruption.
In this regard, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. Both the accused will be produced in the competent court on Friday and further investigation into the case is under progress.
