Two govt officials arrested for demanding, accepting bribe in JK

Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday arrested two government officials red-handed for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe, officials said.

The ACB received a complaint stating that two employees -- Ziladar and Patwari -- posted in Anantnag Irrigation Division are demanding a bribe of Rs 1,00,000 from him, a spokesman of the ACB said.

He said the officials allegedly demanded a bribe for disposing of an application that had been filed against the complainant regarding the alleged encroachment of government land at Ashajipora near Dabruna, Anantnag.

The spokesperson said the accused Ziladar Nazir Ahmad Wani and Patwari Bilal Ahmad Wagay, both residents of Anantnag, told the complainant that they would settle or reject the application at their level ''if he pays a bribe equal to the cost of one Marla of land at that location, which is approximately Rs 4 lakh.''.

On the complainant's repeated requests, they settled the bribe of Rs 1 Lakh, he said, adding that he chose not to pay the bribe and instead approached the ACB, the spokesperson said.

Upon receiving the complaint, a discreet verification was conducted, during which the land in question was found to belong to the complainant and not to the state and the demand for a bribe was also confirmed, he said.

Accordingly, a case was registered in the ACB Anantnag police station and the investigation was taken up, he said.

During the investigation, a team laid a trap and caught the accused government employees red-handed ''while demanding and accepting the bribe'', the spokesman said.

The team arrested them on the spot and recovered the bribe amount from their possession in the presence of independent witnesses.

Subsequently, a search of the residential houses of the accused employees was carried out in the presence of Executive Magistrates and independent witnesses.

Further investigation of the instant case is underway, the spokesman added.

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