Fire official arrested while taking bribe in Sector 53

A fire department official was arrested for accepting a ₹15,000 bribe to avoid filing a negative report about an accountant linked to a recent fire.

A fire department official was arrested on Thursday while accepting a bribe of ₹15,000 from an accountant of a society on the Golf Course Road in Sector 53, officials said.

Officials said the arrest was made by the Haryana state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (ACB). (Shutterstock)

Officials said the arrest was made by the Haryana state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (ACB). The accountant was bribing the official asking him not to prepare an adverse report against her.

The 38-year-old lead fireman was posted at the Sector 29 fire station, officials said.

A senior ACB official said that the accountant was posted in the maintenance department of the society where a fire had broken out in an apartment on April 13 this year.

“The lead fireman had threatened the accountant that he will submit a report to the department mentioning her negligence had resulted in the fire and demanded ₹20,000 from her,” the official said

ACB officials said they finalised the price at ₹15, 000. They said he asked her to reach his office on Thursday to pay the amount.

ACB officials said the ACB team also recovered ₹2.98 lakh cash from his car parked inside the fire station. They said he was being questioned about the recovered cash.

“An FIR was registered against him under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 308(2) (extortion) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at ACB Gurugram police station,” the official said.