Punjab VB nab patwari’s assistant taking bribe red-handed

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, an official spokesperson said the arrest was made following a complaint filed by a resident of Kapurthala. He added that he 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 assistant, Sukha had demanded Rs 1,000 bribe, promising completion in 4-5 days. However, three days later, the accused demanded an additional Rs 6,000. The complainant approached the Patwari on May 26, who directed him back to Sukha. This time, his assistant raised his demand to Rs 8,000.

After negotiations, the bribe was settled at Rs 4,000. The complainant recorded the entire conversation and reported the matter to the VB.

The spokesperson said after preliminary verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap and Sukha was caught red-handed accepting the bribe.

Jalandhar