J&K ACB traps and arrests Chuni Lal, Patwari, Patwar Halqa Dansal, Jammu for demanding and accepting bribe of ₹20000

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau received a complaint alleging therein that a public servant, namely Chuni Lal, Patwari Patwar Halqa Dansal, demanded illegal gratification from the complainant for providing a demarcation report.

The accused, Chuni Lal, Patwari, Patwar Halqa Dansal, demanded the bribe amounting to ₹100,000 from the complainant for providing a report of demarcation, and after negotiation, the accused, Chuni Lal, has agreed to receive ₹75,000 and demanded the 1st installment of ₹25,000 as a bribe. However, the complainant could not arrange ₹25,000 as the 1st installment, and instead he managed to arrange ₹20,000 only. Since the complainant didn’t want to pay a bribe, he approached ACB for taking legal action against the accused public servant under law. 

On receipt of the complaint, a discreet verification was conducted, which corroborated the demand of a bribe by the public servant concerned, and accordingly, a case FIR No. 15/2025 U/S 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was registered in Police Station ACB Jammu, and an investigation was taken up. 

During the course of the investigation, a trap team headed by a gazetted rank officer was constituted. The team laid a successful trap, and the accused public servant was caught red-handed while demanding and accepting a bribe amount of ₹20,000 from the complainant in the presence of independent witnesses. The accused was arrested on the spot by the ACB team after following due process of law. The bribe money was also recovered from his possession in the presence of independent witnesses associated with the trap team. 

Moreover, searches were also conducted in the office and in the in-laws house of the accused in the presence of independent witnesses and magistrates. Further investigation of the instant case is going on.