Ludhiana: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday arrested Inspector Shubham, posted at Zone-B of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, after he was allegedly caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹25,000, an official spokesperson of the Bureau said.
Source: Punjab Vigilance Bureau statement via Onnline TV
According to the spokesperson, the arrest followed a complaint by a resident of Ajit Nagar, Ludhiana. The complainant alleged that after his father's death, he and his brothers had submitted documents at the Municipal Corporation's Zone-B office to transfer their ancestral property into their names, and the file had been marked to Inspector Shubham for further processing.
The complainant alleged that the inspector demanded ₹25,000 to facilitate the transfer. Unwilling to pay, he approached the Vigilance Bureau's Ludhiana Range and reported the matter, the spokesperson said. These are allegations made in the complaint; the accused has not been convicted of any offence.
Acting on the complaint, a Vigilance Bureau team laid a trap, and the inspector was allegedly caught accepting ₹25,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses, the spokesperson said.
A Punjab Newsline report from the Municipal Corporation office corroborated the action, reporting that a Vigilance team raided the Zone-B office on Wednesday afternoon, caught a property-tax branch inspector allegedly accepting a bribe, and examined documents and records inside his cabin, causing a stir among staff present. That preliminary report said the exact amount was still being confirmed at the time; the Bureau's statement later put the amount at ₹25,000.
Source: Punjab Newsline
A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station in Ludhiana, and further investigation is under way, the spokesperson said.
The Vigilance Bureau reiterated its commitment to strict action against corruption and urged people to report any demand for a bribe by a public official.