*VB registers corruption case against two excise dept officials for taking Rs 10000 bribe*

Chandigarh ( Beuro)The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a corruption case against two officials of Excise and Texation Department, Punjab posted at Kapurthala namely Jatinderpal Singh, Inspector and Sanjeev Malhotra, Clerk for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 and were demanding Rs 20,000 more. In this case Inspector Jatinderpal Singh has been arrested and would be produced in the court tomorrow.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said this case has been registered against the above mentioned accused based on a complaint lodged by Neeraj Sharma, a resident of Mohalla Kiampura, Kapurthala city on the Chief Minister’s Anti Corruption Action Line.

He further informed that the complainant had informed in his complaint that he is running an electronic shop at Kiampura in Kapurthala city and had sold a cooler in March this to which both the above mentioned accused had intervened to settle the dispute with the customer. He further alleged that both the accused had asked him on his mobile phone to come with his accountant in the office where they demanded a bribe of Rs 45,000 from him to settle irregularities of said bill.

The complainant mentioned that after this, Clerk Sanjiv Malhotra had demanded a bribe of Rs one lakh on WhatsApp call but deal was struck at Rs 30000.  He had taken Rs 10000 as first instalment on next day and now they were demanding Rs 20000, a balance of bribe money. The complainant recorded conversation on phone with the accused and submitted it to the VB as an evidence.

The spokesperson further informed that during verification of allegations leveled in this complainant have been found correct and true as the same have been supported by oral evidence as well as recording of conversation. Based on this verification report a FIR No 17 dated 14.8.24 has been registered against both the accused under section 7 of prevention of corruption act and 384, 120-B of IPC at VB police station Jalandhar range. In this case accused Inspector Jatinderpal Singh has been arrested today from his office at Kapurthala and efforts to arrest accused Sanjeev Malhotra are going on, he said.