Forest Guard Arrested in Kathua, J&K for Rs 35,000 Bribe
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Synopsis
On March 22, the CBI arrested a forest guard in Kathua, J&K, for demanding a bribe of Rs 35,000 from a contractor. The accused, Vipin Pathania, was caught accepting the bribe to facilitate contract work and return a confiscated JCB machine key. He was remanded for 14 days in judicial custody.
Key Takeaways
- Vipin Pathania arrested for demanding Rs 35,000.
- Bribe solicited for contract facilitation.
- CBI conducted a successful trap operation.
- Accused remanded for 14 days in custody.
- Complainants advised to report bribery to CBI or ACB.
Jammu, March 22 (NationPress) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced on Saturday the arrest of a forest guard in J&K's Kathua district for soliciting a bribe of Rs 35,000 from a complainant.
"A complaint was filed stating that the accused, Vipin Pathania, was demanding a bribe of Rs 35,000 to facilitate the complainant's contract work, which involved the construction and repair of a road, as well as to return the key to a JCB machine that was unlawfully taken by him," the CBI stated.
“Upon discreet verification of the complaint, it was confirmed that the allegations were valid. A trap was subsequently set with independent witnesses present, during which the accused was apprehended in the act of accepting the bribe of Rs 35,000 from the complainant,” the statement elaborated. The accused was taken into custody by the CBI, and a search was conducted at his residence in village Dewal in tehsil Billawar.
The accused was presented before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption (CBI Cases), in Jammu, who remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days, as per the statement.
The CBI, along with the J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), are the designated authorities to handle bribery cases involving public officials. Complainants are encouraged to directly approach either agency if a public servant is soliciting bribes through the misuse of their official position.
Last year, on September 14, the J&K ACB apprehended two officials from the Forest Department in the same district for demanding and accepting bribes.
Forester Rashpaul Singh and forest guard Avdesh Singh were caught red-handed while illegally accepting Rs 15,000 to authorize the pending payment of over Rs 2.81 lakh to a contractor responsible for various forestry tasks, including fencing work, plantation, pit planting, and patch sowing in the Budhi block forest range of Kathua.
A formal case was registered, and discreet verification substantiated the bribe demand from these two public servants, according to the ACB statement, which confirmed that a successful trap was executed, leading to their apprehension while accepting the bribe in the presence of independent witnesses.
