In its continued crackdown on corruption, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a private individual named Rampal, an accomplice to Patwari Vipan Kumar, posted at revenue halqa Nawanshahar-1, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000 on behalf of the Patwari.
An official spokesperson of the VB disclosed that the arrest was made following a complaint lodged by Pardeep Kumar, a resident of New Abadi, Nawanshahar city in SBS Nagar district.He further informed that the complainant had approached the VB after Patwari Vipan Kumar had demanded Rs 5,000 bribe to process the mutation of his ancestral house.
Acting on the Patwari’s instructions, the complainant had already paid Rs 2,000 bribe in advance to Rampal, his middleman. When the accused further insisted on the remaining amount, the complainant has approached the VB for help.The spokesperson added that upon preliminary verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap and apprehended Rampal red-handed while he was accepting Rs 3000 bribe from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. Meanwhile, Patwari Vipan Kumar managed to escape the scene, evading arrest.
He informed that a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against both the accused at VB Police Station, Jalandhar range. The arrested accused would be produced before the competent court tomorrow while VB teams are actively pursuing the absconding Patwari. Further investigations into this case are underway.