Jaipur, July 10 (IANS) The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested two patwaris of the Land Settlement Department in Bharatpur after they were allegedly caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000.

According to ACB Director General Govind Gupta, the ACB’s Bharatpur unit acted on a complaint alleging that patwaris Pradeep Singh and Digambar Singh were demanding Rs 50,000 from the complainant in return for demarcating agricultural land that had already been measured. The accused allegedly harassed the complainant and family members while pressing for the bribe.

Following verification of the complaint, the ACB laid a trap under the supervision of Bharatpur Range DIG Omprakash Meena and the direction of Additional Superintendent of Police (ACB Bharatpur) Amit Singh. The operation was led by Police Inspector Mahendra Singh, during which both accused were caught while allegedly accepting Rs 30,000 as part of the demanded bribe. The accused are being interrogated, and further proceedings are being conducted under the supervision of ACB Additional Director General Smita Srivastava and Inspector General S. Parimala.

The ACB said a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act is being registered and further investigation is underway. The ACB has appealed to the public to support its anti-corruption campaign by reporting instances of bribery through its 24×7 toll-free helpline (1064) or WhatsApp helpline (9413502834), assuring citizens of assistance in securing legitimate public services.

Earlier, on July 7, the ACB’s Churu unit arrested Dr Vikendra Kumar (Secretary) and Kamal Kumar (Supervisor-cum-Cashier) of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Churu, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.

Govind Gupta stated that the ACB Churu unit had received a complaint alleging harassment and a demand for a bribe of Rs 20,000. The accused, Vikendra Kumar and Kamal Kumar, had allegedly demanded the amount in exchange for dropping proceedings related to a notice issued to the complainant’s firm located at the APMC Churu premises. The notice had sought submission of cash books and accounting bills for the years 2019-20 and 2021.

Subsequently, under the supervision of ACB Bikaner DIG Narayan Togas and the leadership of ACB Churu Additional Superintendent of Police Mahavir Prasad Sharma, the demand was verified. A trap was then laid, resulting in the red-handed arrest of both accused while they were allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000, which was also recovered. Further proceedings at the site are underway.

–IANS

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