The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, has arrested a Forest Guard Manpreet Singh, posted at at district forest department Mansa for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2,500. Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above mentioned official has been arrested based on a complaint lodged by Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Khokhar Road, Mansa.
He further informed that the complainant has approached the VB and informed that he use to earn daily income by operating a mechanised card (Rehri) and he had found a piece of wood on the roadside and loaded it in his motorised ‘Rehri’. The complainant further informed that while he was on the way the above said Forest Guard has threatened him to fine for stealing the wood and asked to pay him the bribe money of Ra 5,000 for not taking any action.
As per the complaint the accused has agreed to take Rs 4,000 bribe and had already took Rs 1,400 as first instalment and demanding the remaining amount. The spokesperson added that after preliminary enquiry into this complaint the VB team laid a trap and the accused Forest Guard has been arrested while he was accepting the remaining bribe money of Rs 1100 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.
In this regard a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at VB police station Bathinda range. He would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.