E-Paper
Vigilance Bureau nabs forest guard while taking ₹4.5 lakh bribe in Mohali
Another bundle of cash, amounting to ₹4.64 lakh, was also recovered from the car of the accused, Ranjit Khan
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested a forest guard red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹4.5 lakh from a Kharar resident, authorised to cut and sell Khair trees at Mirzapur village in Majri block.
Another bundle of cash, amounting to ₹4.64 lakh, was also recovered from the car of the accused, Ranjit Khan.
The complainant, Bhupal Kumar, had approached the bureau claiming that Baldev Singh, the forest block officer posted at Mirzapur, Mohali, had already taken ₹5 lakh in bribe from him on March 28 to reduce the fine for cutting some unmarked trees, said BK Uppal, DGP-cum-chief director, Vigilance Bureau.
The duo had demanded ₹4.5 lakh more, following which he filed a complaint.
On Wednesday, Khan was arrested from Omaxe Tower parking area in New Chandigarh while accepting ₹4.5 lakh in bribe at the behest of Singh. Another ₹1 lakh, part of the bribe money paid earlier, was recovered from Khan’s house, said Uppal.
The official hammer used by Baldev in his capacity as the block officer was found in Khan’s car. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.
