ACB catches SFC Div Mgr taking bribe

JAMMU: A divisional manager in State Forest Corporation (SFC) was caught by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Tuesday while taking Rs 30000 as bribe from a contractor in Udhampur district.

“Puran Chand Bhagat was caught accepting Rs 30,000 in the presence of independent witnesses in his office-cum-residence complex at Udhampur for releasing contractors' pending payment,” an ACB spokesperson said.

“A formal case under FIR No.05/2019 under Sections 5 (1) (d) r/w 5 (2) and Section 4-A of Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment 2014) has been registered against Bhagat on the basis of a written complaint lodged by a contractor Romesh Chander of Udhampur,” informed an ACB official.
The contractor, Romesh Chander, had lodged a complaint with the ACB alleging that the officer demanded Rs 48,000 as bribe for the release of pending 10% of his payment.

Chander is working as a contractor with the SFC in Udhampur from the last 20 years and had been allotted extraction, transportation, loading and unloading work by the department in compartment No.45/76 Dudu Range.

The contractor had further alleged that Bhagat asked him to pay Rs 30,000 as advance and rest Rs 18,000 after release of the payment for his work, the spokesperson said.

It was agreed that complainant would pay Bhagat Rs 30,000 on 21 May and accordingly, a trap team under the command of Kartar Singh Kotwal, DySP was constituted and a successful trap was laid against the said officer.

“During trap, Bhagat was caught red handed while demanding and accepting illegal gratification of Rs. 30,000 from the complainant by the ACB sleuths, in the presence of independent witnesses in office cum residence complex at Udhampur.

“The accused officer has been arrested in the case for further investigation,” the spokesman said.

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