BJP corporator in Jammu, husband, arrested for ₹10,000 bribe: ACB

ACB spokesperson said BJP corporator Jyoti Devi asked a contractor for ₹10,000 to issue him a debris clearance certificate that was needed to get paid for the work done by him

JAMMU: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator in Jammu, Jyoti Devi, and her husband Sham Lal, were arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on charges of accepting a ₹10,000 bribe from a government contractor, a bureau spokesperson said on Friday.

BJP corporator Jyoti Devi and her husband Sham Lal were arrested by ACB in Jammu for taking a bribe from a contractor (ACB)

Jyoti Devi, municipal corporator from Jammu’s ward no 53, was arrested minutes after her husband was caught accepting the money from the contractor, the ACB spokesperson said.

According to the ACB, Jyoti Devi had asked the contractor for ₹10,000 to issue a debris clearance certificate.

“We received a complaint in writing wherein the complainant stated that he is a contractor by profession and has been allotted contract work for up-gradation of the open area along the main road near Master Mind Classes by pre-cast of paver tiles and up-gradation of open area at Ward number 53 Trikuta Nagar, Jammu,” said a spokesperson of the ACB.

The contractor said he had completed the allotted work and was yet to receive final payment from Jammu Municipal Corporation in the absence of a certificate from the corporator.

“For final payment, there was a requirement of debris clearance certificate from the corporator, for which Jyoti Devi demanded an amount of Rs. 10,000 as bribe. She asked the contractor to pay the briber to her husband,” said the spokesperson.

Accordingly, a trap was laid and Sham Lal arrested.

“Both the accused persons were taken into custody on the spot. Searches at the residential house of the accused persons were also conducted,” said the spokesperson.