Punjab Vigilance Bureau nabs Rent Collector red handed accepting bribe of Rs 3 lakh

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its drive against corruption in the state, nabbed Mohammad Iqbal, Rent Collector posted at Punjab Wakf Board Zira, district Ferozepur red handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs. 3,00,000/- as second installment.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said that the complainant was a resident of Gurudwara Singh Sabha Zira, district Ferozepur. He informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the accused rent collector was demanding a bribe of Rs. 5,40,000/- to be given to the senior official for giving possession of land allotted by Wakf Board Zira to the complainant. In this regard, accused already had taken a partial bribe of Rs 70,000/- as token money from the complainant as first instalment.

He revealed that the complainant had already paid the government fees of Rs. 2.98 lakh through cheques in the name of Waqf Board Zira, including rent amount of the property to be taken on lease from the Waqf Board Zira and these cheques have been recovered by the VB team during the raid from the office of accused rent collector Mohammad Iqbal.

The spokesperson further said that after a preliminary enquiry of this complaint a VB team from economic offences wing (EOW) laid a trap during which the accused was arrested while he was accepting bribe of Rs 3,00,000/- as second installment from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case has been registered against the accused under prevention of corruption act at VB police station EOW, Ludhiana range and further investigation into this case was under process, he added.