Continuing its relentless drive against corruption, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) today arrested Sukha, an assistant to Patwari Ranjit Singh, while accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 for processing a land record correction.
Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson said the arrest was made following a complaint filed by a resident of Kapurthala city. He further added that the complainant had applied for a Rs 10 lakh housing loan from a Bank.
During verification, a discrepancy was found between the Khasra and Fard numbers in his property documents and he had submitted an application for correction at the Tehsil office, where the Tehsildar marked it to Patwari Ranjit Singh for action.
He further added that when the complainant approached Patwari’s said assistant, Sukha, had demanded Rs 1,000 as an initial bribe, promising completion in 4-5 days. However, three days later, the said accused had demanding an additional Rs 6,000 bribe for this work.
Frustrated, the complainant approached Patwari Ranjit Singh directly on May 26, who directed him back to Sukha. This time, his assistant escalated his demand to Rs 8,000 bribe, claiming the work usually takes 20 days but could be expedited for money. After negotiations, the bribe was settled at Rs 4,000, with Sukha assuring immediate online updates.
The complainant recorded the entire conversation and reported the matter to the VB.The spokesperson informed that after preliminary verification of this complaint the VB team laid a trap and Sukha was caught red-handed accepting the bribe of Rs 4000 in the presence of two official witnesses.
In this regard a case has been registered at VB Police station Jalandhar range and further investigations are underway to determine if Patwari Ranjit Singh was complicit in the extortion.