SDO among two booked for taking Rs 15L bribe
The Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of the Irrigation Department Gulab Singh and Agriculture Sub-Inspector Davinder Singh for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a candidate, during the recently held panchayat elections here. While the SDO has been arrested, the VB is searching for the Sub-Inspector.
VB officials informed that the complaint was filed by Gurpreet Singh, a farmer from Mana Singh Wala village, on the Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line. They said the complainant had filed his nomination papers to contest the election for the position of sarpanch.
As per the complaint, the SDO had demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from the complainant on September 4 in the presence of the accused Sub-Inspector. On September 5, an unidentified individual collected another Rs 5 lakh at a petrol pump, close to the complainant’s residence. Gurpreet Singh also mentioned that despite paying the bribe, his nomination papers were rejected.
A telephonic conversation was recorded between the Sub-Inspector and the SDO regarding the bribe money, which was submitted as evidence. A VB official said a case had been filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act and further investigation was under progress.
