Nuh sarpanch held for bribing officials to quash forgery inquiry: ACB

The accused, on the run since February, was arrested from his village and remanded for three days; ACB probing SDM’s alleged role in the case.

The Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a sarpanch from Nuh for allegedly bribing several government employees and a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM)-rank official to end an inquiry against him that was initiated over forging educational documents to contest the panchayat election, officials said on Wednesday.

Haryana ACB is tracing the ₹7 lakh bribe trail allegedly paid by dismissed sarpanch Rampal to SDM staff to end a fake certificate inquiry. (Shutterstock)

According to ACB officials, the accused identified as, Rampal, who had won from the Karhera panchayat of Firozpur Jhirka, had been on the run for the last seven months after being booked in a corruption case at the ACB police station in Gurugram on February 6 for offering bribes to government officials.The accused was arrested from Karhera, where he had returned briefly to visit his family, ACB said.

Officials said that Rampal was arrested on Monday and was produced before a Nuh court on Tuesday, which granted the ACB a three-day police remand for interrogation. “We are quizzing him to try to ascertain if he had bribed the SDM and if yes, then how much. If strong evidence surfaces, then we will take action against the SDM too who is posted elsewhere in the state right now,” a senior ACB official said, declining to be named. He added that the sarpanch had been dismissed from his post by Nuh deputy commissioner Dhirendra Khadata in March 2024.

According to officials, the Nuh district administration had received a complaint against Rampal alleging that he had forged his Class-VIII certificate to meet the minimum educational qualification required to contest the panchayat polls. An inquiry was ordered and assigned to the then SDM of Firozpur Jhirka, who is also an accused in the corruption case.

ACB officials said that Rampal approached Jubair Ahmed, a stenographer in the SDM’s office, seeking a favourable report in the inquiry. “The steno spoke to the SDM after which she directed him to tell the sarpanch that a favourable inquiry report will be submitted if he pays ₹4 lakh bribe,” an ACB official said. “Rampal paid ₹7 lakh bribe to Jubair to get the inquiry closed with a favourable report, but the steno got transferred,” the official added.

Officials said that Rampal then started putting pressure on Jubair to get the work done, after which the latter approached the ACB and lodged a complaint. “Jubair was paying ₹3 lakh bribe money to village secretary Mohammad Hasin posted at Nagina block development and panchayat office for Rampal’s work done when ACB arrested the latter one,” the officer saidm cited above said.

“Afterwards, two more people, including Firozpur Jhirka SDM office computer operator Pardeep, were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the case. Rampal is the fourth arrest,” he said, adding that the SDM, presently posted in a district in northern Haryana, remains under investigation.

The ACB said that the investigation is ongoing to determine the SDM’s role and to trace the movement of the bribe money.