Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 12: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today arrested a Forest official red handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 30000.
An ACB spokesperson said that acting on a written complaint received from a contractor working for the JJM Scheme, Mohammad Sultan, Forester, Tulail, Gurez, has been arrested while demanding and accepting the bribe amount.
Quoting the complainant, the ACB spokesperson said that the forester had harassed the contractor and demanded the bribe in exchange for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
He said the complainant, who had previously completed various Government projects, had been allotted two works under the JJM Scheme in 2022. These projects involved laying and fitting GI pipes for retrofitting water supply systems in the villages of Sardab and Gulshanpora in Tulail, Gurez District Bandipora.
“While the contractor’s team was working on the projects, Forester Mohd Sultan halted the work, citing the requirement of an NOC, and demanded a bribe of Rs 30,000 to allow it to continue. The contractor emphasized the urgency due to the approaching cold weather in the area,” he further said.
After discreet verification, the spokesperson said that the ACB confirmed the allegations and registered a case against Forester Mohammad Sultan under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
“Later, a team led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) was formed to apprehend the accused,” he said.
The trap set by the ACB succeeded, and Forester Mohd Sultan was caught red-handed accepting the bribe from the contractor in Gurez District Bandipora. He was promptly arrested, and the seized bribe money of Rs 30,000 was recovered in the presence of independent witnesses, said the spokesperson.
“The investigation into the case is currently ongoing, as the ACB continues to gather evidence and probe the matter further,” the spokesperson added.
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